Can I Keep You
by Edward'sTrueAngel
Summary: Kagome is a young princess and InuYasha is a young prince who have been betrothed since they were babies, but there’s just one problem with the arranged marriage. . .They hate each other. But what happens when they meet again years later and fall in love?
1. Betrothed

Can I Keep You

Chapter 1

Betrothed

Kagome frowned as the fresh breeze coming into the carriage hit her face in passing.

It was a nice, warm spring day, and yet she was feeling as cold as ice.

She and her parents were on the way to get acquainted once more with her fiancé's family, who lived in the western lands while her family lived in the east..

Of course, she didn't remember a thing about her fiancé or his family, but for some reason, she felt as if she wasn't going to like him one bit.

She knew that his name was InuYasha and that he was the same age as her.

She'd been told that he had long silver hair, amber eyes, he was hanyou, and little doggy ears on top of his head.

"Great, a dog," Kagome said. "If I don't like him, I can just throw him a bone…maybe it'll hit him in the head…"

The carriage approached the castle grounds and Kagome had to admit…she was impressed.

The castle's size rivaled her family's castle back home.

And the trees and bushes and other plants…they appeared to be kept in good condition, just starting to flower in the early spring.

And the lake that she saw made it all the more beautiful.

Of course, it was about the same as her home was, but she was impressed.

She hated the thought of getting married….especially to somebody that she didn't even really know.

All she knew was that her parent's word on this decision was final, and that nothing she said could change a thing in their minds about it.

Shouldn't a young maiden such as herself be free to make her own choices about who to pursue…at least when she got a bit older than she was now?

Kagome glared over at her parents and they only smiled over at her warmly.

She rolled her eyes.

The town surrounding the castle was wonderful, so full of life.

It reminded of her of the town by her castle back home.

They obviously loved their rulers, the royal family.

"Lord Sesshomaru is so…dashing!" Kagome heard one of the town girls say in an excited voice.

"Yes, he is!" another girl said. "But that look in his eyes…it's so cold...but so cool!"

"His father is a dish, too! Their long silver hair and amber eyes is a carried family trait that's so catching," one girl said."

"Doesn't he have a younger brother?"

"Yes," the other girl said. "I think his name is…InuYasha. I haven't seen him before, but I have heard that he has quite the temper. He has not yet been introduced to the townspeople. I wonder why…"

"I heard it was because of his bad behavior and all around conduct," another girl spoke.

The carriage had been riding by quite slowly, so Kagome heard their whole conversation.

"I've heard that he's a trouble maker, unlike lord Sesshomaru. And doesn't he have a human for a mother?"

"You didn't know that the Lady of the house was a human?"

"Yes, I did know, I just didn't know that he was her son at first."

"Lady Izayoi is so beautiful. I wish to be just like her someday."

"Yes, she is most beautiful. And she's so very kind. I wonder what it's like to be her!"

'Great,' Kagome thought. 'Just what I need…An irascible mutt for a husband…"

She saw somebody standing outside of the castle, a man and a boy, both with long silver hair.

"Is that InuYasha?" Kagome asked more to herself than to her parents as she leaned forward in the hopes of getting a better look at him.

"Yes," her mother spoke. "That is the young man we expect for you to treat with honorable civility meeting him today, and every day before and after your marriage that you see him."

Kagome snorted.

"What if he doesn't…treat me with honorable civility?" Kagome asked.

"You'll have to make due. Kagome, you know that you are already walking a thin line with us due to your conduct. And we have already alerted you as to what will happen if you act badly on this trip," her father said.

"Yeah, sure," Kagome said.

InuYasha saw the carriage entering the castle grounds.

A girl appeared to be looking their way.

"Is that the girl you're forcing me to marry?" InuYasha asked.

"Making you do what is expected of you doing as a prince of these lands is not forcing you, it is guiding you in the right direction," his father, the Inu no Taisho, told him.

"It's all the same to me," InuYasha said.

"No, it is not all the same, InuYasha," his father spoke. "This is a good match, you and young lady Kagome. All will be worthwhile."

"I don't want to get married," InuYasha said. "Look at her. I can see her from here; she's ugly, looks like an ugly duckling. You expect me to wake up next to that everyday of my life after getting married?"

His father looked at him, surprised at what he said.

"That's it," his father spoke. "You are getting married to that girl and that is final!"

The carriage came to a halt in front of them.

InuYasha's father gave him a light kick in the leg and InuYasha stepped up to the carriage and held out his hand.

He was frowning.

His father gave him another kick in the leg and he pasted on a fake smile.

Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed.

Her father cleared his throat.

She looked over at him and he had that, 'You better do what you're supposed to do,' look.

She put on a fake smile, too.

He cleared his throat again and Kagome accepted InuYasha's hand in help out of the carriage.

Kagome was a couple of inches taller than InuYasha and she had to look down on him just a bit.

She sized him up.

He had long silver hair like she'd been told, amber eyes that looked a bit hostile at the moment, and twitching little doggy ears on top of his head.

She saw right through his little smile.

Kagome knew that he wasn't enjoying this any more than she was.

Another kick in the leg from InuYasha's father and he bowed low before kissing Kagome's hand.

Kagome turned her hand the other way and made a gagging indication.

InuYasha did the same.

Kagome's father cleared his throat again.

She glared at him momentarily before addressing the boy in front of her.

"I am very…delighted to meet you, InuYasha. I am Kagome, your future wife," she said before doing a little curtsy.

InuYasha's father kicked him in the leg again.

"I am very…pleased to meet you, Kagome. As you know, I am InuYasha, your future husband," he said before bowing again.

'This whole thing is so stupid,' Kagome thought.

'This whole thing is stupid,' InuYasha thought.

"So InuYasha," his father said. "What do you think of your future wife?"

"I think need to look up just to see this stick, and when I do look up, the glass in a mirror would break into pieces like the spots on her face," InuYasha said.

Kagome heard what he said.

"Excuse me? Are you indicating that I am overly tall?"

"No, of course not," InuYasha said. "I said you were overly tall, ugly, and had lots of freckles."

Their parent's mouths hung wide open.

"InuYasha, that is no way to talk to your future wife," his father said.

"No girl in her right mind would ever want a short little rude mutt like you. I'm afraid I'd get fleas. Excuse me; I have to go wash my hand because it's dirty from just touching you."

"Kagome," her father spoke. "That is no way to talk to the man who is going to be your husband!"

"But why do I have to marry him?" Kagome asked through clenched teeth as she glared daggers at the hanyou boy in front of her.

"Don't worry," InuYasha barked out. "I don't want to marry you either!"

The two glared at each other.

Their parents were standing by, wondering if a fight would start and wondering who would make the first move.

The young prince and princess had been betrothed to be married since they were babies.

That's when they first met.

And even then, they had hated each other.

The baby Kagome yanked at baby InuYasha's hair and InuYasha retorted by trying to scratch her eyes out.

And now, meeting at the age of twelve, they hated each other with a passion.

"Like I'd want to marry a dog eared mutt like you!"

"Like I'd want to marry an ugly duckling like you!"

Kagome did look like an ugly duckling now.

She was unusually tall, definitely not filled out in any of the right places, and she had many freckles.

"Oh just shut up dog boy!"

"Duck!"

"You jerk!"

"Quack quack quack!"

"Stupid Hanyou!"

"Pathetic human!"

"You freaking mongrel idiot!"

And with that, she stormed away towards the carriage that awaited her.

She hopped in and stuck her head out, looking at her parents.

"Well are you coming?" She asked, sounding bossy.

She hadn't meant to sound like this, but she couldn't help it.

That Inuyasha had really got her steamed!

Kagome and InuYasha's parents exchanged apologies for their children's behavior and went their separate ways.

Kagome looked out of the back window, looking back at that castle that the hated one lived in.

She now hated that place almost as much as she hated him.

She could see that he was still standing out front, talking with his father, though she couldn't tell what they were saying.

"Kagome," her father spoke sternly. "I am afraid that your…actions, your etiquette, attitude, and your use of tongue has been quite inadequate lately…"

"Daddy, it's just us in the carriage. Please speak in a language I can understand," Kagome said in an irk manner.

He sighed.

"See, that attitude of yours is going to get you in trouble, young lady," he said. "Kagome, your mother and I have been discussing something…"

"Hey, I'm not really in it," her mother broke in.

"She's your child, too," the lord of the eastern lands spoke.

"True, but this is your idea, you take the credit," the lady of the eastern lands spoke firmly.

"What are you two talking about? Kagome asked in an annoyed tone.

"Kagome, like I said, your actions, e…What was that middle one?"

"I think you said etiquette before dear. Honestly, you're thirty two years old and you already can't remember things," his wife said with a shake of her head.

"I'm still twenty five," he told her, though he knew better.

Kagome laughed at him.

Her father told the driver to start driving away from the castle now.

"I'll have you know that all the young ladies in the kingdom still love me. Now back to what I was saying…Kagome, your actions, etiquette, and your attitude have been quite inadequate lately. You have not been acting as a princess is expected to act. We tried to teach you what you needed to know, but I see now that our efforts have been in vain. You knew that you were treading in deep water already, close to getting this punishment, and your behavior with your fiancé today proved that this must be done. So…"

InuYasha stood there with his father.

"InuYasha, you have not been behaving the way a young prince such as yourself is expected to. Your derisory demeanor has been causing problems and now you have stepped on bad footing with your bride to be. This cannot be allowed. I have given this great thought and I have come up with a feasible solution to our problem."

"What are you talking about?" Kagome and InuYasha asked at the same time.

"Young lady," Kagome's father said.

"Young man," InuYasha's father said.

"You are going to Finishing School," both fathers said at the same time.

Kagome looked from her father to her mother.

"Daddy…you…you're joking, right?" Kagome asked, laughing nervously.

Her mother shook her head.

"You're…sending me to a prissy prim school?"

Both of her parents nodded.

"Dad, you've got to be kidding right?" InuYasha said hopefully.

"I'm afraid not, son," the Inu no Taisho spoke.

"It can't be true. Finishing School is for girls, and in case you haven't noticed….I AM NOT A GIRL!"

"Boys can attend Finishing School as well, and you are going to."

"So…you're not joking?" Kagome and InuYasha asked at the same time.

The carriage with Kagome and her parents inside had almost reached the front gates of the castle grounds.

"I'm afraid not," Kagome's father said.

"I am completely serious," InuYasha's father said.

Object horror registered on Kagome's face as it did on InuYasha's.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" both youth's yelled at the same time.

Their yells were heard all throughout the castle grounds.

Kagome collapsed dramatically on her seat.

InuYasha's stumbled back and fell onto the ground.

"Lift the tea cup gently to your lips and now sip, don't…" she began.

Sango slurped her tea.

"Slurp," the teacher finished.

"Oh, I'm sorry teacher," Sango said in her most sugarcoated voice.. "I shall try not to do it again."

"I'm sure you won't," the teacher said as she turned around.

Kagome laughed.

"Now lift the tea to your lips again and…"

"Ah!" Kagome said as she spilled hot tea all over herself.

"Kagome, are you okay?" Sango asked.

"I'm…going…to…kill…InuYasha…for…disrupting me into behaving badly in front of my parents!" Kagome yelled.

"Young lady," her teacher spoke. "Be quiet."'

She then turned her back to them.

Kagome got stuck in Finishing School, but luck was with her when her cousin, who just happened to be her best friend, Sango ended up going with her.

"Young lady," Kagome mimicked in a low, mocking voice. "Be quiet."

Sango laughed, but straightened her back and put on a straight face when their teacher turned around.

The teacher then turned around the other way again.

"Now, the lesson for learning how to properly drink tea is now over for the day," the teacher said. "Now, we shall work on learning how to properly cross your legs, and you'll learn just why it is necessary to do so."

"I'm not sure I'm going to want to hear this," Kagome said.

"Turn your chairs to face me and watch me as I do it first," the teacher said as she sat down in front of them. "Cross your right leg gently over your left leg. Make sure that your legs are folded tightly together. Now we wouldn't want any young men to see your upper legs or your…"

Kagome squeezed her hands over her ears.

"Please, no more!" Kagome cried.

"The torture, the torture!" Sango said dramatically.

"Skin," the teacher finished.

Kagome blinked twice before removing her hands from her ears.

"Wait…that was all you were going to say?" Kagome asked.

The teacher looked at her as if she were crazy.

"Yes…what did you two think I was going to say?"

"Oh…nothing, nothing at all," Sango hurried to say. "We knew that you were going to say skin all along."

They both began to laugh nervously.

Honestly, they'd known their teacher to say really bold and outright blatant, disturbing things.

But this time, she did nothing of the sort, much to their relief.

"That is all the time we have for today," the teacher said. "You two run along…in a ladylike way."

Kagome and Sango hurried around the corner, but poked their heads back around so that they could watch their teacher without her knowing.

That was when they saw the woman pull a forty ounce of only God knew what kind of alcoholic beverage out of her desk.

"No wonder she's always…well you know," Sango said.

"Kagome's…meddling...got me into this!" InuYasha yelled. "I'm going to kill her for this!"

His teacher hit him on the head with a paper fan and glared at him before continuing on.

"Now, young men, you shall learn swordsmanship, dancing, horseback riding…"

And that was when InuYasha decided to tune it out.

"Wait, did you say I'll be learning the smooth moves to dance with the ladies?" Miroku asked hopefully.

Miroku had been InuYasha's best friend for as long as he could remember.

But Miroku had also been a bit…perverted…ever since he could remember, too.

The teacher laughed.

"Ha. Young man, with my dance moves, the ladies won't be able to resist you," the teacher said.

"Oh, I'm sure he has to beat them off of him with a stick," InuYasha said sarcastically.

"They'll be chasing after you, so be sure to carry a stick," the teacher said.

"I bet he tries to get a date with the ladies so they start chasing after him with sticks," InuYasha said.

InuYasha and Miroku started laughing.

"Enough!" the teacher said as he clapped his hands together just before the wind coming from the open windows blew his toupee made of horsehair off of his head.

InuYasha and Miroku laughed even harder.

"On second thought," InuYasha laughed. "Maybe I'll have to thank Kagome for getting me into this."

"You two little vagrants will stay here for two more hours, learning how to properly address people. And then you will learn how to properly clean a room from ceiling to floor," the teacher said.

"On second thought," InuYasha said. "I'm still gonna have to kill her."

Day after day, the young prince and princess excelled in their studies, much against their own wills.

They became better at becoming what their parents had wanted, at least on the outside.

But they still very much blamed each other for what they now had to do.

They were betrothed and each hated the idea of spending the rest of their lives with each other.

But could you blame them?

They really did get off to a bad start, didn't they.

But now, the real question is, will things get worse?


	2. Undercover

Can I Keep You: Undercover

Chapter 2

Undercover

Thanks for the review, Fallen Rose Petal! Here's chapter two.

"Are you going to Master InuYasha's birthday party tonight?" a village girl asked another.

"Why of course," another girl said with a giggle. "I wouldn't miss seeing him for the world. He's so dreamy!"

Another girl sighed. "Oh, he's so charming!"

"You know, I heard that his eighteenth birthday was actually last week, but he's only now having the party," the first girl said.

"I don't care when his birthday was…I'm going to that party at all costs," a girl said.

"You'll be lucky if he even looks in your direction," one girl said. "Oh, but how I wish I would be that lucky myself!"

"Ah, but sometimes some girls do get lucky and he'll lead them up the stairs and…."

"No impure thoughts!" a girl yelled.

"Sorry."

A young woman amongst the crowd went by unnoticed.

Hidden under the coverage of a black cape, she stood back and listened to the girl's conversation, growling lightly at the last part about being lead up the stairs.

"So…you mean to say that the young lord has been fooling around with various young women?" the young woman under the cape spoke.

The girls directed their attention toward her.

Another young woman in a cape stepped out of the shadows and elbowed her sternly.

"Have you no modesty in this matter?" the second caped girl spoke.

"No, not in this situation," the first caped girl said back. "But that was more modest than it could have been. I could have phrased it quite differently."

"Why not?"

"Well for one that fool has been doing things with women that one shouldn't do with anybody else but one's spouse. And I know for a fact that none of those women are his spouse!" the first caped girl said.

"True as that may be, you should not cause a scene…remember what you're here for!" the second caped girl said.

"Fine," the first caped woman said. "Let's go, we have much to do before it is time."

The second caped female nodded her head and followed the first away.

"I challenge anybody who thinks that they can defeat me!" the first caped female heard a voice say from beyond.

The girls she'd been listening to before rushed past her to go see whatever was going on with much excitement.

The two caped companions saw that there was a crowd assembled.

"Sango," the first caped female said. "Maybe we should go see this."

"Why Kagome?" the second caped female, Sango, said to the first.

"I don't know why. I just have a feeling…"

They went to see what the crowd was all excited about.

Pushing by the assembled people and making their way to the front, they could see two men fighting with swords.

One was a black haired fellow who had his hair tied back into a bun.

The other, who was obviously winning the fight quite easily, made her heart stop for but a moment.

Amber eyes lit with amusement, enjoyment of the winning moment, long silver hair swishing back and forth as he moved with rapid ability and little white doggy ears on top of his head twitching back and forth.

There was no denying that this man was very, very handsome.

But there was also no denying that this man was the young Master InuYasha, one of the princes of the western lands.

He finished the fight, coming out the victor, but also sparing the challengers life since a challenge was all that it was, not a fight to the death.

The loser of the fight hurried away in the shame of defeat.

The village girls in the crowd cheered wildly, calling out to him and wishing that he'd look their way, if only for a brief second.

They were obviously very crazy about him and Kagome snorted in acute disgust.

"We love you Master InuYasha!" one of the girls called.

The rest of the girls began to chant it.

"Oh, I wish that he'd look over here at me!" one of the girls said in a wistful voice. "Oh please, if only for a second Master InuYasha!"

"Oh, he looked at me! He looked at me!" another girl cried before fainting. 

InuYasha flashed them all a smile.

They squealed with delight and started chanting again.

"Now, is there anybody else who'd like to challenge me? I'll be here for a little while longer. Hell, if nobody beats me, I might be here all day, unless I get tired from boredom and go home," InuYasha said. "So, who wants to challenge the unbeatable InuYasha? I promise I won't humiliate you too badly," he said in a cocky voice.

"Such petulant arrogance," Kagome said in a low voice to Sango. "Do you see that cocky look on his face? He really thinks that he's better than everybody else. I'd love to knock him off of his high horse, but I doubt that he's worth wasting time on."

"You there," InuYasha said in a voice that stated that he obviously believed himself to be superior. "Yes, you, the one in the black cape to the right…I heard what you said. Why don't you come over here and…knock me off my high horse like you said you wanted to. Either you step up here and show me you have the balls to face me or back off like a coward."

"Why you," Kagome growled in a low voice that couldn't identify femininity or masculinity.

"Don't take the bait," Sango said. "We're supposed to be staying low profile, remember?"

Kagome snorted and turned around.

"Oh, I see that you're a wimp, a pushover like plenty of others. I was wrong to think that you'd be worth the time," InuYasha said in a supercilious tone of voice. "You know, you remind me of the woman I'm engaged to. I haven't seen her in years, but she had that…stupid factor about her, a waste of time, you know? It's hard to find a good woman these days for men such as us. But wimps such as you couldn't get a woman, not even a man in trying. You're nothing."

Kagome turned around and grabbed a man's sword in passing.

Stepping up to InuYasha, she looked him up and down.

He was indeed handsome, but that arrogant, superior air about him, she didn't like it at all.

"Oh, I see he's found the audacity to take me on," InuYasha laughed. "What, no last words before defeat?"

Kagome remained silent.

"Answer me dammit!" InuYasha said.

Kagome remained silent.

"Fine," he said as he drew his sword. "I'll take you down."

Kagome backed up a step and got into a defensive stance.

InuYasha swung at her and Kagome jumped back before charging him and swinging at him, catching nothing but his sword against hers.

They stood locked sword for sword for a moment before they both jumped back and then charged, swinging their swords at each other.

InuYasha turned his sword to the side and tried to whack her in her side but Kagome jumped back onto a stack of hay before jumping down with her sword raised above her head, bringing it down.

"Oh no, be careful InuYasha!" one of the girls cried.

InuYasha raised his sword to block it, trying to push the caped competitor but finding that the person's feet were firmly planted and fighting for firm ground with formidable resolve.

He brought his leg up and tried to kick her but she leaned all the way back before bringing her sword up to defend herself as InuYasha tried to bring his sword down on her.

"Yes, go Master InuYasha! You can do it, you're so dreamy!" another girl called.

He seemed to think he had the advantage with his competitor being leaned so far back.

Kagome pushed InuYasha back just barely, but it was enough for her to quickly move in between his legs and behind him.

She swung at him, but he jumped back up onto a wagon, doing a back flip and landing on his feet as if he were a cat.

"You're absolutely amazing Master InuYasha!" Another village girl said happily.

He continued to jump back as Kagome charged him.

He stopped jumping back and took her attack, blocking her sword with his.

He then pushed her down to the ground and was bringing his sword down when she somersaulted out of the way and landed on her back before jumping easily to her feet with her sword ready for attack.

He charged her and swung at her blade with such a force that it flew out of her hand and straight up into the air.

"You're so close InuYasha!" a girl called to him.

Kagome looked at him for a second before jumping up onto a water barrel and jumping up, catching her sword on her hand and landing on her feet.

He charged her, pushing her back and getting the better of her, knocking her to the ground with his blade pointed at her.

"Yay! Master InuYasha did it!" the girls cheered.

He was breathing heavily.

"I must say, you've given me quite the workout," InuYasha said. "But I knew you wouldn't have the balls to beat me. What happened? I thought you were going to knock me off of my high horse," InuYasha said in an egotistical voice.

He started to laugh and threw his head back before laughing harder.

"You know, you're wrong," Kagome said. "You were wrong about two things, was it, Master InuYasha?"

Kagome raised her leg and kicked him in between his legs hard, making him drop his sword and cross his legs before falling to the ground in pain.

Kagome jumped up and brought her sword right to his throat, less than an inch from his skin.

"The first thing you were wrong about," Kagome said defiantly. "Is that I couldn't have the 'balls' to beat you, because," she then took off her cape with one hand and threw it aside, "I…am a woman. And as we all know, women don't have balls, and by your shameful position right now, I highly doubt that you do either."

He saw that her long wavy black hair pooled over her shoulders, leaned against her face.

Her beautiful brown eyes caught the sunlight and lightened just a bit.

She was wearing a long sleeved white dress that ruffled to her wrists, falling out around her.

The dress hugged her hips and curves and ended just below her knees.

He noted that she had very nice legs.

"The second thing you were wrong about," she said as she kicked him once more for good measure. "Is that I have knocked you off of your high horse. Now you either admit defeat now, or you shall have to taste the sharp end of my blade. Take your pick Master InuYasha," she said as she leaned down right over him, her face less than an inch away from his, her blade right at his throat. She then lowered her voice to a silky smooth, low tone, almost a whisper. "I assure you, I am not jesting with you."

"Wait, please back off now and show mercy beautiful angel of death," a man with black hair that he kept in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck and sparkling blue eyes said. "Prince InuYasha was only having some fun. I, Miroku, shall vouch for him. Surely you do not wish to end his life so soon after his eighteenth year."

Kagome turned her eyes to him.

"Why, I never intended to kill him, only intimidate him. I assure you, I am not that kind of woman. I only detest arrogance such as what he possesses," Kagome said.

"Then free him," Miroku said.

Just then, InuYasha caught her off guard and knocked her to the ground, climbing on top of her and pointing his sword at her throat.

He noticed just how delicate the skin looked before shaking his head and looking at her face.

"Now what was that you were saying about knocking me off of my high horse and that other crap? Who's down for the count now my good lady? You should never challenge a man at a man's sport."

Kagome laughed harshly.

"A man's sport? You call swordplay a man's sport?"

"Yes, it's a MAN'S sport. And little girls like you shouldn't be playing with fire. You could get burned. Unless of course it's in a kitchen, where a woman such as you belongs."

"I belong in no kitchen, I assure you. And I'll play with fire all I want, but I won't get burned, especially not by the likes of you," Kagome said.

"You are bold; I'll give you that. But for some reason, you remind me of somebody I once knew…somebody that I hated…"

Kagome brought her legs up off from under him and kicked him in the chest hard enough to made him stumble back so that she could jump up, pointing her sword at him as he pointed his sword at her.

"You are good with a sword," InuYasha said. "But I am better."

"I'm sure that somebody like you would think that. But I bend before no man in admittance to defeat," Kagome said.

"Master InuYasha!" a man called as he rushed to the scene. "You are needed back at the castle immediately!"

"I'll leave you with defeat as your reminder," Kagome said. "That you should never talk about a woman such as you have this woman you are to marry."

"I assure you, I haven't been defeated by a damn woman," InuYasha said. "I went easy on you because of the fact that you are a woman. Had you been a man, I wouldn't have played around like that. You are lucky."

"That's right!" some of the village girls called. "He was trying to make you look better!"

"Spare me your chauvinist remarks, Master InuYasha," Kagome said. "And spare me the jabber from your little fan club over there."

She stood up and lowered the sword and handed it back to its rightful owner.

Miroku looked at the other woman in the cape, seeing but a glimpse of her face and being instantly captivated by the mystery of her.

Sango came forward and bent down, picking up Kagome's cape and handing it to her.

"Come on, we should leave," Sango said.

"You're right," Kagome said.

The wind blew the hood back on Sango's cape and her face was revealed.

Miroku stared at her, something flickering to life behind his gaze of blue eyes.

She saw the way he was looking at her and blushed before putting the hood back up and pulling Kagome away with her.

Sango pulled Kagome into an alley.

"Are you crazy?!" Sango yelled. "Making a big scene like that and everything is asinine! Have you forgotten so soon our reasons for being here?!"

Kagome looked away from her.

"No, I have not forgotten. I just thought to give him a taste of the sword skills I've reserved just for him," Kagome said. "Revenge for all those years of detestable Finishing School…From now, or objectives shall remain nondescript and undetectable."

"That's right, you won't be pulling any of that anymore this trip, you got that?" Sango demanded.

Kagome snorted, then sighed, then nodded.

"Good," Sango said.

"It's just that…with all of the rumors I've heard spreading about him, and the way he was the last time I saw him…and even the way he is now. He just really infuriates me. How could my parents pair me with one such as him?"

"Kagome, stay calm, please. Look, you know what you're here to do; I know what you're here to do. Let's keep it that way, okay?"

"Yes," Kagome said. "He's having a birthday party tonight even though his birthday was a week ago, and my birthday was very soon after his. My parents…they're going to expect for us to be married soon…and after that comes the…wedding night...God, who knows how many women he's been with. You could call him a male prostitute, I'm sure."

"You don't know all that for sure. Rumors are just rumors, after all."

"But did you see the way he looked at me after finding me to be a woman? It was like I'm a piece of meat. And the way he talked so bigoted about what women were supposed to do and what men were supposed to do?"

Sango rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I heard that. No wonder you've hated him so much all these years. But really, finishing school has made us better, I think. Did you want to remain a scruffy little tomboy forever?"

Kagome sighed.

"I don't hate him just because all of those years of finishing school, it's the fact that I'll have to spend the rest of my life with him and face his woman demeaning talk and possible adultery. I don't deserve that kind of treatment," Kagome said.

"Maybe not, but we have to stay on task Kagome. We came here for a reason, and you have still to be judgmental upon him. Just take it one step at a time and be careful not to reveal your true identity. Be careful, okay?"

Kagome nodded.

"My parents…they don't know what we're up to. We'll have to send them frequent letters, probably full of lies and deceit. They want me to do the very opposite of what I'm doing. Do you think they'll suspect anything?"

Sango shook her head.

"They'll probably want to believe that you're doing what they want you to so badly that they won't suspect a thing. They've always just wanted what was the best for you," Sango told her.

"You're probably right. But anyway, we have a plan to get started working on. And to do that, we'll have to attend that birthday party tonight."

"You're right," Sango said. "Plan A, part 2, attend party."

"Well, what are we waiting for," Kagome said. "We have to get prepared." 

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters. Though I do give my undying gratitude to Rumiko Takahashi for creating it…But I do own any original characters that I may bring into the story. 


	3. InuYasha's Party

Can I Keep You: InuYasha's Party

Chapter 3

InuYasha's Party

Wow, I'm happy that people are reading my story so far. I'm so excited. And I want to say thank you to the reviewers for being so nice. I won't be updating for a couple of weeks after this week because of Christmas, but I promise I will be back so please continue reading when I do! By the way, I know that Inuyasha says "feh" but in this story, I made it "keh" for some reason though I really don't know why, so please just ignore it! So here's the chapter.

Plans…

Kagome had big plans, and she would now start to truly execute them.

Usually she wasn't this bold and devious, but in this case, I was necessary, absolutely necessary.

Her parents thought that she was there to get better acquainted with InuYasha since they were not both eighteen and would be expected to be married soon enough.

And yet problems faced her in her mission.

One such problem was the knowledge that InuYasha already knew that she, the woman he was to marry, was supposed to be coming to see him.

But she already had a plan for that problem.

She waited until the mail carriage began its rounds and slipped in an envelope containing a forged letter from her parents stating that their daughter wouldn't be able to make it.

And in the effort to defeat the possibilities of suspicion from her parents she'd send letters to them every now and then, telling them the things they wanted to hear.

It was the perfect plan…except that her parents would most likely send letters back to her…at the castle…and she would have to be there to accept them.

She could always tell them not to write back, but she knew that they would anyway.

No, she had to hatch another plan…

"Are you ready?" Sango asked as she snapped Kagome out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," Kagome said as she smoothed down her already immaculate dress. "Oh gosh, I'd MUCH rather be wearing one of the dresses the chambermaids wear…They're way more comfortable."

"You've stopped being a scruffy little tomboy, but…"

"But I'm still not the perfect lady," Kagome said for her.

"Right," Sango said. "Now I bet many of InuYasha's guests have already arrived. This will be the perfect time for our entrance, observe for a little while before making ourselves noticed."

"Yeah," Kagome said. "Let's go."

They caught a ride to the castle from where they were by carriage.

Entering the castle, Kagome and Sango smiled at the people near as they blended in with the crowd.

They were obviously the most beautiful there, but they went unnoticed like they planned to.

Kagome spotted InuYasha at the top of the staircase.

He was with Miroku.

InuYasha and Miroku stood at the top of the staircase.

"Look at that," Miroku said. "Quite the turn out, even though you got beat up by a woman."

"That woman didn't beat me," InuYasha said sharply. "I was clearly better, but I have to admit, she's damn good with a sword."

"And that's why she beat you."

"That's bull. I didn't get beat by a woman, but at least I've gotten dates," InuYasha said. 

"I get dates I'll have you know," Miroku said.

"Oh really," InuYasha said. "How about that party I threw last year. You went on and on about that chick that was going to come with you and what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Miroku said.

"She said that she was washing her hair, but she showed up at the part with somebody else."

"I'll have you know that the ladies love me," Miroku said. "That was just one girl."

"What about that girl who was going to come with you tonight?" InuYasha asked.

"She had a family emergency, she couldn't come," Miroku said.

"She told you that her grandmother died…only her grandmother supposedly lives in the southern lands and she'd been gone for a while. And I think I see her down there next to that door," InuYasha said as he pointed.

Miroku followed his finger.

"Hey, that's her," Miroku said. "Okay InuYasha, I get your point. But still, plenty of ladies love me."

"Keh," InuYasha said.

"But seriously," Miroku said. "That beautiful woman from earlier…Her swordsmanship skills rival your own."

"I hate to admit it, but you're right," InuYasha said. "She has amazing skill, not to mention beauty. And yet there's something so familiar about her. I just can't put my finger on it."  
"There are so many lovely ladies down there, but isn't your fiancé supposed to be visiting?"

"No," InuYasha said. "I got a letter from her parents this morning saying that she can't make it. That's okay, I can't stand her anyway."

"Oh, I bet she's probably changed a lot since you last saw her," Miroku said.

"A damn attitude like that doesn't change," InuYasha said.

"Yeah, whatever…Oh, look, lady Kikyo just walked in," Miroku said.

InuYasha's ears twitched before he looked down and saw Kikyo entering.

"How can you tell? It's a masquerade party," InuYasha said.

"Look at those curves, that's Kikyo alright."

"Oh, I guess I'll catch you later Miroku," InuYasha said.

"Yeah, whatever," Miroku said as he leaned against the railing.

InuYasha walked smoothly down the stairs, immediately being surrounded by girls.

"Oh Master InuYasha, dance with me!" one girl cried.

"Oh please dance with me!" another girl begged.

"Master InuYasha, why don't you dance with me?" Kikyo asked as she joined the crowd.

Kikyo extended her hand and he took it, letting her help him out of the crowd.

They danced slowly, closely, making the other women jealous.

"It's been a while Master InuYasha," Kikyo said.

"Sure has, Lady Kikyo," InuYasha said.

Kagome and Sango stuck nearby.

Kagome watched the way they danced, they way they whispered things in each other's ears.

"You see that Sango?" Kagome asked. "They're getting fresh with each other. Oh, now he's leading her up the stairs."

"Kikyo's so lucky. Master InuYasha has always fancied her over everybody else," a village girl said.

"Now's the time," Sango said.

"Yes," Kagome agreed.

InuYasha and Kikyo had reached the top of the staircase when Kagome and Sango made their true entrance, dresses changed into something much more beautiful as they stood in the doorway.

People looked at them and stepped aside, until there was a clean straight trail from them to the staircase.

"Look at those beautiful women," a man whispered.

"I've never seen such beauties around here before," another man whispered.

InuYasha looked back to see why everybody had suddenly become so quiet.

He could see that there was a clean line from the staircase to he doorway and standing in the doorway were two very beautiful women, the one in the blue dress catching his eye.

"He's sees us," Sango said. "We should get to walking; you walk a little ahead of me."

"I know," Kagome said.

They began walking towards the staircase, eyes straight ahead as they made a great impression.

When they were about halfway, Kagome looked up at InuYasha and winked at him.

He smiled, transfixed by her remarkable eyes.

Pushing Kikyo aside, InuYasha walked down the staircase and too the one in the blue dress, the one who'd winked at him.

He approached her slowly, trying not to look really anxious.

He stood in front of her, Kagome bowing slightly in his presence.

"My lord InuYasha, it is an honor to attend this party of yours. I aspire nothing but your happiness," Kagome said in a pleasant tone. "And yet I have nothing to offer you but my hand in a dance. Shall you take me up on my offer?"

"Arise fair maiden," InuYasha said in a proper way to impress. "I'll take you up on your offer."

Kagome stood up straight and held out her hand.

He took it and they began to dance.

He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They danced very closely.

Kikyo glared at the back of InuYasha's head before she turned around and stomped away.

Everybody else began to dance, too.

"I…haven't ever seen you around here before," InuYasha said. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from the northern lands, and I can only stay here for the night. I was here on a visit when I found out about your party. Unfortunately, I'll be leaving in the morning."

"That's a damn shame," InuYasha said. "Would you like for me to give you a private tour of the castle, since you'll be leaving so soon?"

"Why certainly," Kagome said.

InuYasha took her hand and led her up the staircase.

Kagome turned her head back and winked at Sango, who winked back.

As InuYasha and Kagome passed by, Miroku noticed the other beautiful young woman in the lavender dress.

Her beauty astounded him even though she was wearing a mask.

He could see her face clearly since she hadn't worn a mask, and neither had her friend.

Walking down the staircase, he reached her.

She was standing amongst the crowd, looking rather bored.

"Um…excuse me," Miroku said. "Might I ask a beautiful lady such as you to a dance?"

He chose his words wisely.

Sango looked around for a moment before thinking it over and then nodding her head.

She took Miroku's hand and they began to dance.

"That door leads to the garden," InuYasha said.

"Really? Is the garden beautiful?" Kagome asked.

He nodded.

"Why don't I take you out to see it?" he said.

"Sure," Kagome said to him. "That sound like a great idea."

He opened the door and led her outside into the garden.

"They're beautiful," Kagome said as she looked at all of the flowers.

'This place always works for the romantic atmosphere,' InuYasha thought.

"Why don't we go inside?" Kagome said. "Could you show me more rooms?"

'If he takes me to his bedroom, if I see what he does there…If he tries to make a move on me, then I might know…'

"Well, okay," InuYasha said.

He led her back inside.

"Well, that's the library," InuYasha said. "And that's my bedroom, let's go inside."

He led Kagome over to the huge bed to sit down.

"So, what do you think?" InuYasha asked.

"I think it's very beautiful. Surely you didn't decorate it yourself?"

"No, of course not…If I had, it wouldn't have looked anything like this," InuYasha said.

"Indeed," Kagome said. "Oh, is it always so hot in here?"

She rose up the left strap of her dress and slipped it down her arm before rubbing her shoulder.

Before she knew it, InuYasha reached over and grabbed her, bringing his face to hers in a passionate kiss.

'So he is making a move on me,' Kagome thought.

She grabbed a hold of handfuls of his hair as he stroked her arms, ran his fingers through her hair, and teased her lips with his own.

He lowered her onto the bed without breaking the kiss, feeling the softness of her skin, reveling in the sweetness of her mouth.

She seemed to give no resistance.

She slowly unbuttoned his shirt, feeling his bare skin as he trailed gentle kisses down her neck.

He unzipped her dress, running his hands down her back as he brought his lips back to her mouth.

She pushed his shirt off of him as she pulled him closer.

He began to pull her dress down.

Just then, she pushed him away, getting up and fixing her dress.

"How dare you!" Kagome said as she picked up a pillow and starting hitting him with it left and right before kicking him in the leg and yanking his hair. "I'm not a piece of meat! You can't just meet me one moment, lock lips and press flesh with me the next. I'm out of here!" Kagome said.

She looked back, saw the shocked look on his face, and laughed on the inside.

"Master InuYasha?" he heard her say. "Master InuYasha?"

He shook his head and looked around.

They were still in the garden.

'Whoa, talk about a damn daydream,' InuYasha thought. 'Wait…it's nighttime, only I'm not asleep…'

"What?" he asked.

"I think we should finish the tour and then get back to the party, right?" Kagome said.

"Right," InuYasha said.

He finished showing her around the castle.

They then went back to the party and pretty soon, Kagome and Sango left.

"So, how'd it go?" Sango asked as they were walking away.

"He took me to the garden. I could just tell that he was trying to set up a romantic atmosphere," Kagome said.

"So, what do you think about him so far?"

"He'll need to be watched very, very carefully," Kagome said. "He didn't try to make a move on me, but I still have a feeling about him…"

They got back to the inn where they were staying, changing into more comfortable clothes.

"Sango, I think I'll write my parents a letter now. They'll be wondering…"

"Go ahead. I think I'll go get some fresh air," Sango said.

Kagome got out a piece of paper and began to write.

Dear Mother and Father,

I have arrived in the western lands and have met with my future husband, Lord InuYasha.  
He seems to be well liked around the town and he's very good with a sword.  
So far, he seems very well fit to be my husband and I am beginning to really like him. I look  
forward to getting to know him better and I just know that he's going to turn out to be a wonderful person. I miss you and I'll see you upon my return to the eastern lands. I'll write more soon.

With love,

Kagome

"And the majority of that was a lie," Kagome said.

"Dude, you're telling me that you met the lady one minute, had fantasies about her the next? That's bad," Miroku said.

"I couldn't help it. It all seemed so damn real. Nothing like a fantasy or daydream at all," InuYasha said.

"Oh, poor Inu-puppy. He was so disappointed when he found out that it wasn't real," Miroku said in a teasing voice.

"Oh, shut the hell up, I'm going to bed," InuYasha said.

"Ah, and you're going to bed all along," Miroku told him.

"Shut up," InuYasha said before he disappeared around the corner.

The next morning, Kagome woke up just as the sun was coming up.

She'd been brushing her hair when she saw the sunlight coming in through the window.

Kagome put her hairbrush down and walked out onto the balcony.

The sun was beginning to rise and it cast an unearthly glow across the land.

It was so beautiful.

But she still felt so empty inside, like something was missing from her life.

Something that should be so dear to her that should be so important and close to her heart...

Something that she would give up everything for if given the chance…

She gazed longingly out at the rising sun.

Kagome heard a quiet noise behind her.

"Kagome, what are you doing up?" Sango asked.

"I went to bed so early that I couldn't sleep late. And plus, I have to get the letter to my parents to the mail carriage before it's finished with its rounds," Kagome said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'll go with you. Dress like a peasant so you won't attract any attention, and hurry because I just saw the carriage go down the road," Sango said.

"It's already gone?!" Kagome said.

She hurried away and slipped on a dress fit for a peasant and tied a scarf around her hair and hurried out the door, running out into the street with the envelope containing the letter in her hand.

"Excuse me sir," Kagome said. "Did the mail carriage just go down the road?"

"Yes, you'd better hurry if you wish to catch it," the man said.

They ran in the direction the mail carriage had taken off in.

"Peasants sure do start off their days early," Kagome mumbled to Sango as they jumped over a lump of hay.

She almost ran into a little old lady crossing the street and swerved to the side to miss her.

Just then, a covered wagon parked in the straight, right in their way.

They jumped into the front of the wagon and ran straight out the other side.

"I'm sorry you people," Kagome called to the shocked family inside.

She could see the mail carriage.

"Look Sango, there it is," Kagome said.

"We'll never make it, it's almost reached the castle," Sango said.

"Look there, a barrel on its side. Sango, I have an idea," Kagome said.

"No way," Sango said.

"Yes way, it's the only way," Kagome told her.

"Alright, but if I get injured in any way, I'm going to inflict serious harm upon you," Sango threatened.

"Oh the count of three," Kagome said as they ran towards the barrel.

"Okay," Sango said.

"One," Kagome said.

"Two," Sango said.

"Three!" Kagome said as they both jumped onto the barrel, running as fast as they could to make it go.

Running on the barrel increased their speed and they were gaining on the carriage quickly.

The reached the side of the carriage.

"Slow down!" Kagome called to the mailman.

"What in the world are you two ladies doing?" the mailman asked.

"Please, slow down, we need a ride to the castle and we're really tired out!" Kagome pleaded.

"Alright," the mailman said as he slowed down a bit.

Both Kagome and Sango jumped up into the carriage.

They collapsed on the seats, both breathing hard, out of breath and out of energy.

"Thanks," Sango called out to the mailman.

"No problem," he said.

"Look Sango," Kagome whispered. "There's the mail bag."

She slipped her letter inside and closed the bag once more.

The carriage stopped in front of the castle and one of the guards came out to accept it.

Kagome and Sango stepped out of the carriage and handed the bag to the mailman.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem," Kagome told him.

He handed the mail to the guard and drove away.

"Junk mail, junk mail, junk mail, junk mail, a letter from one of the nobles a few towns away, more junk mail, an invite to a party…" the guard said.

Sango cleared her throat and the guard looked up.

"Who are you two and what business do you have here?" he asked as he threw the junk mail into the bushes.

"Um…we are here to ask for work. We're new in this town and are in dire need of a job. And we thought that this would be the best place to start, maybe as a maid…" Kagome said.

"Well, I'm not the one to talk to about that. I'll see if I can get you a brief meeting with somebody more important than me," the guard said.

"Thank you so much," Sango said. "We shall be in your debt."

The guard led them inside. 

!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters associated with the anime or manga, though I do give my undying gratitude to Rumiko Takahashi for creating it. But I do own any original characters that I may bring into the story and the basic story of the fan fiction itself.

Sam T. 


	4. Working Aristocrats

Can I Keep You: Working Aristocrats 

Chapter 4

Working Aristocrats 

Well, I'm sad to say that this will be the last update for a week or two. But I promise I'll be back soon so please read and review if you can. So here's the chapter.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The crack of thunder alerted Kagome to the sound of the pounding rain.

But wasn't it sunny but moments ago?

The guards had led them to this door and then went inside, leaving them out there to wait it out.

The rain sounded so soothing.

InuYasha stayed by Izayoi's bedside.

She looked so pale and weak laying there, burning up from a fever as cold sweat drops rolled off of her.

Izayoi moaned quite a bit and called out to him in her uneasy slumber.

As InuYasha sat there, pushing a stray tendril of her hair away from her face, he felt like there was nothing he could do to protect her from danger.

His father stood behind him, came forward before kissing her hand in what InuYasha felt to be a final farewell.

"Why are you saying good-bye so damn soon? She's not going to die!" InuYasha said as he looked up at his father in anger.

"I am not saying good-bye forever...Just good-bye for now. It seems that there is nothing that can be done for her."

"And what? You're just going to surrender to that? Just say, 'Oh, she's going to die, lets just give up and say good-bye?' I won't. If you loved her, you'd do the same!"

"Do not question my love for her. Don't you see how much pain she's in? When she's gone, all that pain will wash away and she'll finally be able to rest in peace. If you love somebody, you'll let them go. Go by he same," his father told him as got down on his knees before Izayoi and pushed the hair off of her forehead before kissing it softly.

Sesshomaru snorted from the doorway and walked away.

"Such sentimental fools," Sesshomaru said to himself as he left the scene.

InuYasha's father whispered something to Izayoi that made her smile faintly before she whispered something back.

She then handed him a piece of paper and smiled weakly before they exchanged a few more whispered words that InuYasha didn't hear.

His father left him alone with his mother.

Her breathing became labored, quick and rough.

He wasn't one to show his tears, never was he such one, but he cried as he cradled her body in his arms.

She seemed so frail.

That body that was once so full of energy and warmth was now greatly deprived of this.

He let silent tears fall onto her face.

The face that was the personification of kindness and beauty.

She'd always been the one to make sure he knew that he was loved, to make everything feel better, to make him feel safe.

How could she leave him so soon?

"Mother," he said, his voice slightly choked. "Mother...Wake up. Please wake up."

As she heard his voice, the voice that she so loved, she opened her eyes.

"InuYasha," she said as she ran her soft hand across his cheek, wiping away a renegade tear in the process. "InuYasha. I'm so tired. I don't have much ti..."

"No mother! Don't you even dare finish that sentence. No, you're not going to..."

He couldn't bring himself to say 'die'.

He just couldn't.

He felt that if he said that, then it would make it a finality.

He stopped her hand as it gently stroked his cheek and held it there, savoring every second of her touch, gazing at her, burning her into his memory.

"InuYasha. Promise me something."

It now seemed that she was straining to speak.

"I'd do anything for you mother. I'd promise you anything your heart desired."

"InuYasha, promise me you'll never forget me," her voice dropping as she said this.

"I promise. I could never forget you. I won't say good-bye..."

"Then...I..won't either..." she said just before taking one last deep breath and slowly letting it out, eyes closing slowly as her hand went slack.

He gave it one last kiss before doing what his father had told him he should do.

He let her go.

InuYasha shook his head to clear the memory away.

Why was he thinking about something that happened so long ago right now?

Was it because it was raining on that day just as it was now?

But why now when he didn't bring up this memory on any other rainy days?

"Be ye thinking about it again InuYasha?" old lady Kaede, the high priestess of the kingdom asked as she stood before InuYasha.

"Yeah...and the whole damn thing still seems so wrong."

"Listen to me my boy. Sometimes the hands of fate go backwards, sending the whole process in an inescapable turmoil, making no exceptions to the outcome. That was a sometimes that none of us thought would ever occur, and we were all wrong."

"I know."

"You always that that whenever things got scary, even though you'd never admit it, that you could just run to her arms and feel completely safe. Feeling safe and being safe are two completely different things, two completely different things that are more different than we could originally think. No matter how safe any of us feel, we must realize that just like your mother, God rest her soul, we are not safe, are not in the clear. I have learned that we are never safe, and you should, too."

"I suppose you're going to go on with this, aren't you?" InuYasha said as he leaned against the wall.

"You might feel you're safe, you might think you're safe, you might think you know you're safe, but it's all contrary to those arbitrary viewpoints. What do we define as safe? When we're safe, are we out of harms way? Are we protected and secure? Are we not in any danger? Are we sheltered from anything that might be hazardous in any way?" Kaede said as she stood next to him.

"There are different kinds of dangers that hell can spit out," InuYasha said.

"True...but safety is such a...flexible word, able to be stretched into whatever we see fit, whatever we desire, whatever we want it to be. In this home, with your family, you feel safe, you feel secure, and you feel protected. But learn that sometimes it doesn't really matter what you feel."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you think that you think you won't experience the pain that the people in the world outside of the one you've always known have. And that's when you should learn that there is no inside or outside world, just one bit world with many twists and turns like one big complicated maze. And you might get lost in this maze, might have been lost in it all along, come to desperately search for a way out, any way out and search with all your might to find it. But will you ever find it? Or will you get lost in the maze. Listen InuYasha. Your life could turn into an agonizing tale of your subsistence, or maybe it won't, but turn into something great. The choice is yours."

"You know, you have a convoluted way of giving speeches," InuYasha told her as he went to his room.

Meanwhile, going on with Kagome...

The aura resonating around this room was very sinister indeed.

For some reason, Kagome didn't feel safe in the least lingering around this dank, dark door.

Sango shivered slightly and Kagome knew that she felt that something was wrong, here, too.

The guard came out of the room and shivered just a bit.

"That guy really gives me the creeps..."

"Well standing around this door really gives me the creeps..." Kagome said.

"That's understandable. Well, go inside. The man in there says he might give you a job. Just don't let him get under your skin..." the guard said.

Kagome and Sango lingered in front of the door after he left, reluctant to go in, but knowing that they had no choice.

"Suck it up Sango, let's go," Kagome told her before opening the door and going inside.

The room was very dark, very stifling, very resonating of an aura they didn't like at all.

Sango closed the door behind them and they made their way better inside.

"Come forward," they heard a voice speak.

"I don't suppose Toto could run over there and reveal an old man behind a curtain?" Sango said.

"No," Kagome told her.

They walked closer and saw a man with very long hair watching them, his red eyes glowing as he beckoned them forward.

He seemed to look them up and down, a sinister grin surfacing on his face, as if he were thinking thoughts about them that they'd much rather not know.

"I'm Naraku, the Lord's chief advisor and right hand man. So I heard that you two are looking for jobs here in the castle. I have just the work for you. How about..."

They slapped him at the request he made.

"We're not playmates of the sort. We won't submit ourselves to sexual confrontations for money like whores. We want some decent work," Kagome told him.

"That's okay. I like them feisty. We are always in need of more help. Whatever somebody asks of you within reason, do it for them and you'll be paid well. How soon can you two start?"

"Today, if it's possible," Sango told him.

"Fine. You're hired. Pay's fair, work comes in reasonable amounts."

"Our thanks go out to you sir," Kagome said before she and Sango hurried out of the room, hurrying away from it as fast as they could.

"Is he crazy?! Being his personal bath maids and playthings?! No way on this green Earth!" Kagome said.

"That man...there's a sinister air about him. I don't trust him in the least. Do you think...?"

"Yes...he's the one spoken of in the letter. We'd better keep watch on him. And we should locate...her..."

Walking down a hall, they came across an old woman who looked to be a priestess.

"Who be ye wandering so freely about the castle?" the old woman asked.

"Oh...we were just hired by Naraku but moments ago," Kagome told her. "My name is...Gome and she's..."

"Think of something good," Sango whispered behind Kagome where only she could hear.

"And she's Gogo."

Sango put on a smile and nodded.

"I never liked my name, but I can't get rid of it now," Sango said in a constricted way to make sure Kagome got the point.

"Aye, my name is Kaede. Be ye two well versed in the ways of medicine at task?"

"Well versed we be not, but versed we are nonetheless," Kagome answered.

"Very well. I happen to be the high priestess of this way. New in town are ye?"

"Very much so, only a days way ago in. We hope to prolong any travels and stay put for times currency of being," Kagome told her.

"Aye, I hope it all works out for ye. Personal acquired duties are about all. I suggest ye find one of own."

"We hope to gather the post when morning ride comes about," Sango told her. 

"A fair duty indeed. In fact, I think it fit to relieve the guard of this since his work is to watch calm of collect," Kaede told them.

"An understood situation," Kagome told her.

"Well, I should be on my way," Kaede told them. "See ye about."

"Forwardly looked to," Sango told her.

Kaede left them alone and went about her own way.

"She seems pleasant enough," Kagome spoke.

"Agreed to that," Sango said.

"We should spread to assist," Kagome told her.

"Sure enough."

"Are you two new?" a young girl asked as she approached them.

"Yes, we are. Who might you be?" Kagome asked.

"My name is Rin, a young lady of this house. I happen as part of the host family."

"An honor of opportunity," Sango said.

"Such pleasure from meeting you," Kagome said. "I'm Gome and that's Gogo. We arrived in town but morrow's twice back."

"Our assistance was hired but moments to such second," Sango told her.

"Help is needed of constant. I speak on our behalf, we thank such luck," Rin spoke.

"Our welcome goes out, but truly necessity is not of the thanks," Kagome said.

"I beg to differ. I must be off now. Find to remembrance that the younger Lords of this castle might have dispositions of gravel at times. Bye."

After Rin left, Sango glared at Kagome.

"Gogo?!" Sango asked as she glared at Kagome. "You couldn't think of anything else? Gogo sounds like a sold at a whore house!"

"Well, I wanted to take something from our names. SanGO. So I got Gogo. It sounds okay to me."

"Well I have to live with it now. Never let a princess who happens to be your cousin choose your name...I already feel sorry for your future children."

"Whatever," Kagome told her. "You don't find any opposition in exploring the place, do you? It'll be a good chance to get to know the place and meet anybody we might come across."

"I have no bones about it. Lets go," Sango said she continued down the hall.

They met with some of the maids and servants and were given a tour of the castle, hoping to get a good solid feel of the place to add to their memory.

"Miru," Kagome said as she walked a bit behind the maid who was guiding them. "Could you tell us about...Naraku?"

Miru suddenly stopped and turned around with a bit of a shiver.

"Naraku give us all the creeps. He leers at whatever beautiful maids he sees around and sometimes gets his way with them, most against their wills. I find a feel of him not being trustworthy in the least and there's something most strange about him, something that just sends chills down the spine..."

"I could tell him to be such perversion. When we asked for jobs, he made suggestion that we be his personal bath maids and playthings," Kagome said.

"And what did you do?"

"We slapped him and Gome told him we won't submit ourselves to sexual confrontations like whores," Sango told her.

"Oh dear...Naraku likes the ones who resist just that much more..." Miru told them as she walked forward to a door. "That aside, this is Master Miroku's room. He is of relation down the line of the former Lady of the castle, Ms. Izayoi. Master Miroku may be found to be a bit of a pervert at times, but he's a kitten compared to Naraku."

"We'll keep that in mind," Kagome told her.

"Well, I've shown you pretty much all. Take care, I have duties to get back on to."

"Okay," Sango said.

They watched Miru leave and watched the path she took.

When they were sure nobody was watching, they followed her.

"I've found this place to be most efficient for privacy. You see, the walls have ears," Miru said when she saw Kagome and Sango approach. "You know not just how pleased I am to see you princess."

"Hey, what about me?" Sango asked.

"You too of course Ms. Sango," Miru said.

"Enough formalities. Let's get down to the skivvy of it. What's been going on?" Kagome asked as she sat down against the wall.

"As I said before, Naraku leers at us maids. He even gets his way with some...Takes them to his chambers against their will and uses them to please his urges. It's rape, I tell you, but none muster the courage to tell anybody of enough importance. They cry out for help, but not sound escapes their lips as he makes threats that quells their thoughts of verbal resistance. And his perversions of the young maidens is only the top of the cake. He is not to be trusted. Young Lords, sons of the one who holds power...You can tell they don't trust Naraku. And saying about it to their father has no effect. He trusts Naraku and that's all there is to it. You can tell Naraku's evil, sinister, untrustworthy. And yet, here he is, doing what he does."

"Has he tried anything with you?" Sango asked.

"I'm afraid so. Many times have I seen him staring at me, watching my every move and following me. Sneaking up on me when I'm by my lonesome, trying to force off resistance and take me to his chambers. But as you know, I'm not one of the weak," Miru told them.

"Okay. You've done good Miru. Sending you here was a good idea. Now, tell us about the young Lords of the castle," Kagome said.

"The eldest of the two brothers, Lord Sesshomaru, is a silent one. He's very much so handsome, but at times, cold as ice. He's always able to keep his cool and not fire off. But Master InuYasha on the other hand...He can at times be quick to anger. His tongue does not spit civil words at times. But he's very skilled with swords and other things. But one thing I've noticed is the women who sneak about with him. Ah, Lady Kikyo is quite fond of him. She's high society," Miru told them.

"So it's true. That mutt faced, dog breathed mongrel has been cheating on me with God knows who. I'll main him," Kagome said as she stood up.

"What plans do you make for him?" Miru asked.

"I'm going to cut him down to size. Just watch me. When I'm done with him..."

"What are your arrangements for being here?" Miru asked. "Deception of your parents is high riding."

"I know it's risky, but I have a plan. Sango and I are going to get the mail in the morning and if it just so happens that they've written, the letter will go directly to me and nobody else will know. And cover up letters will be sent to them of course."

"It sounds like it'll work to me," Sango said.

They got done speaking and they left the privacy of the room and went out to the hall.

Miru led them to a closet and pulled out some towels and took them to Sango.

"Here. I hear Master Miroku's bathroom is in shortage of towels. If you could just take them to him."

"Okay," Sango said as she headed towards Miroku's room.

She saw nobody in sight, but did see the room that she knew to be his bathroom.

Quietly opening the door, she entered without passing a look at all and closed the door.

"Why hello!" she heard a familiar voice say as she froze up. 

"Um...I'm...I'm sorry...I...um..." Sango said.

"You came here to join me? How great!" Miroku said happily. "Come now, don't be shy. There's plenty of room for two."

"I didn't come here to bathe with you," Sango said sternly. "I came to bring these towels."

"And you can wrap up in one of them with me."

"I don't think I'll take you up on your offer."

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Miroku asked as he leaned forward and took a good look at her.

"No...I don't believe so," Sango lied.

"Ah, but I never forget a beautiful face. Have I seen you around town before or something?"

"I believe not. I arrived in town very recently with a friend. I just started work here today."

"What's your name?"

Sango frowned before saying, "It's Gogo."

"Gogo...you inject venom into the name when you say it."

"Well I hate the name."

"I think it's nice. Though such a beautiful face should warrant a name of equal beauty."

Sango blushed.

"Wait a minute. I can't believe I'm standing here having a conversation with a guy who's taking a bath. I have to get out of here," she said as she sat the towels down right by the tub.

As she turned to go, Miroku caught her arm.

"Don't forget, my offer for you to join me still stands," he said before he kissed her hand and let her go.

Sango left the room in a hurry, blushing as red as a cherry.

"Prin...I mean Gome. Could you go to the young prince's archery session and groom his horse. It should be with him. I'm sure he won't mind if you brush the horse a few times while he's busy," Miru said.

"Sure thing," Kagome said as she took the brush from Miru and hurried away.

Going outside, she spotted InuYasha in his archery session.

She approached his horse and began to brush it gently.

Kagome watched InuYasha draw the bow and release the arrow while she brushed the horse.

"He's doing it all wrong. That's not how it's done at all," Kagome said to herself as she watched InuYasha practice.

"Excuse me?" InuYasha asked as he turned around, seeing Kagome there brushing his horse. "The hell I'm doing it wrong! You think you know better?"

"Snap. I forgot about his excellent hearing,' Kagome thought.

"Please. I could hit the mark blindfolded," Kagome said calmly as she continued to brush the horse.

"Then why don't you come over here and show me how the damn things done?" InuYasha challenged.

Kagome laughed lightly.

"No big deal. I'll come over and...school you...but only because your cocky demeanor warrants such a thing."

She sat the brush down and walked over to him.

She blindfolded herself and took a bow and arrow from him.

Standing before the target, she clutched the bow with her left hand and prepared the arrow with the other, pulling the string back and concentrating.

When she felt confident, she released the arrow and heard it hit.

Taking off the blindfold, she smiled in success as she saw that she'd hit the bull's-eye.

"Now that, my dear prince, is how it's done," she said before going back to the horse, finishing brushing it, and going inside.


	5. Delivering the Mail

Can I Keep You: Delivering the Mail

Chapter 5

Delivering the Mail

Sorry for the delay, but I'm finally able to update again. So please continue to read my story!

"Wake up GOME," Sango said as she shook the princess, stressing on the name Gome.

"Five more minutes mother, I wish not to argue with father's controlling ways as of yet..." Kagome groaned as she turned over.

"If you don't wake up right now to get the mail, you'll be hearing something from your father all right," Sango said as she shook Kagome one last time.

"The mail?! I have to go!" Kagome said as she jumped up and threw on the first clean peasant-standard dress she could grab.

Pulling Sango behind her as she ran down the halls, she cursed herself for being so careless.

She loved to sleep late and now realized that getting the mail would put a damper on that luxury that she could now not afford.

Reaching the front doors, she smoothed down her dress before opening them just in time to see the mail arrive.

Rushing forward to collect it, she pushed the guard gently aside.

"No bother, I shall be collecting the post from now on," Kagome told the guard.

He shrugged and stepped back as Kagome got the mail and gave Sango a thumbs up.

"Lets go," Sango said as she went back inside.

Hurrying to the private room Miru had shown them before, they went through the mail.

"Ah ha!" Kagome said as she saw the envelope. "A letter from mother and father."

'Dearest Daughter,

We were thrilled to learn of your progress with Lord InuYasha. Our best wishes go out and we knew you'd come around eventually. All those years of Finishing School must have done you some good. We plan to write every day and for you to do the same. It's good to know that you've stopped being as stubborn as a mule and have finally gotten some common sense into that thick skull of yours. Don't blow this because he is the model prince, sets the standards or so we've heard. Write back right now. Must go now, terribly sorry to end so shortly.

Love,

Father and Mother.'

"Even a kingdom away they try to control me," Kagome sighed.

"And here's an invitation for Lady Rin, something for Lord Sesshomaru, something for the priestess Kaede, some surely sinister letter for Naraku, and love letters for InuYasha," Sango said.

"Love letters?!" Kagome said as she picked one of the envelopes up.

She was about to tear it open when Sango's hand stilled hers.

"If you're going to open it, be nondescript. Make no damage so that we can re-seal it," she said as Kagome nodded.

Carefully opening it, she pulled the letter out and unfolded it.

"This smells of hussy," Kagome growled under her breath. "Look, she dotted her i's and periods with little hearts, how...how...gah. I'm just going to read it."

'Dear Master InuYasha,

I love you so much! You're hair is just so long and silky and it glows like the moon. You're eyes look like a chunk of the brilliant sun! Oh, you're perfectly chiseled body! I love you! Those cute little doggy ears, I'd just love to touch them along with every other inch of you! I'll do whatever you want me to, ANYTHING! I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you...'

"Why don't you stop there before you go on forever. The 'I love you's' are like the song that doesn't end," Sango said.

"I am thoroughly disgusted," Kagome said. "I don't even want to know what he's been doing to warrant such letters."

"Ah, here's a letter for Miroku, too..." Sango said.

"Speaking of Miroku, just what happened in his bathroom?"

Sango blushed.

"Um...oh...nothing, nothing..." Sango said.

"Are you sure? Because it seems to me that you're blushing, and you never blush without reason," Kagome told her.

"Nothing happened. I merely talked to a naked guy who was in a tub offering me an invitation to come join him...things about towels being big enough for two, I think...nothing, nothing..."

"So that's how dirty boys get clean..." Kagome said.

"Kagome!" Sango said.

"Just joking..." Kagome said as they left the room. "Lets get this letter sealed up again and then we can deliver the mail."

"Sure," Sango said.

After the letter was sealed again, they stepped out into the hall.

"Here," Kagome said. "Lets split the mail evenly between us. I'll take InuYasha's letters and Sesshomaru's and you can take Rin's, Kaede's, and Miroku's..."

"You're forgetting somebody," Sango said.

"Who?" Kagome asked.

"Naraku," Sango replied.

"You take it," Kagome said.

"No, you do it, I have three people's already and you only have two."

"But InuYasha's letters alone make up more than yours," Kagome told her defensively.

"You're the one who insisted on doing all this," Sango retorted.

Kagome sighed.

"Fine, fine...I'll do it, but you're going to pay...GOGO."

Sango growled at the reminder of her fake name.

"Fine, GOME."

They went their separate ways.

Sango remembered her way around just fine, coming up to Rin's room and knocking, getting no answer.

"Looking for Lady Rin? She's outside under a tree reading a book. Up early for such a one so young," one of the maid's told her. "You'd think that one her age would be trying to sleep as late as possible."

"My thanks," Sango said as she walked by the maid.

Making her way outside, she easily spotted young Rin siting under a tree, back against the trunk, nose dug into a good.

"My, you're an early bird, aren't you?" Sango said as she stopped before her. "And you enjoy reading?"

"I like getting up early, give me more time of the day. And I do enjoy reading. It seems these days that more young women in the kingdom are shamelessly ogling a handsome man, working, or doing nothing. I prefer to keep my priorities straight," Rin told her as she looked up from the book.

"Very smart indeed. It seems that plenty of young women in this kingdom enjoy sending love letters to the young prince, Lord InuYasha," Sango injected.

"Yes, that is so. They also love Sesshomaru. They find his ignorance of them to be attractive, think he's putting on a cool guy act, the strong silent type or something..."

"I haven't met with such yet, but Ka...I mean, Gome is delivering his mail to him so she'll be able to tell me what he's like."

"I suppose it won't be hard for her to get an impression of him."

"Here," Sango said as she held out the envelope.

"What's this..." Rin asked as she took the envelope. "It says, 'Invitation for the young Lady of the Castle, Rin...' I wonder...I guess I'll open up the envelope and see...Oh, it's from the 'White Glove Society.' They've been after me to join for I don't know how long..."

"Well, I really must be delivering the rest of the mail now," Sango told her.

"Very well then. See you around Gogo," Rin said as she went back to her book.

"Gogo...that's going to take some getting use to," Sango whispered to herself.

"Eight love letters for the hound..." Kagome said to herself as she was making her way to InuYasha's room.

"Must be one of his low days then," Miru said as she hurried down the hall. "He usually gets much more."

Kagome rolled her eyes at the stack of letters for him.

Reaching InuYasha's door, Kagome knocked lightly.

"Come in," she heard him say from inside.

She walked in to find him getting ready to throw a dart at a dart board.

Watching him throw the dart, she quickly went into the line of fire, caught the dart, and turned around, facing him as she thew the dart back behind her.

"Here's your stack of love letters," Kagome said as she shoved the letters into his hands and left the room.

"Damn, she hit the bullseye without looking..."

Sango found Kaede at a maid's bedside.

"What's going on?" Sango asked.

"Yon girl refuses to leave her bed and to fess as to what's wrong with her," Kaede told Sango as she noticed her presence.

"You got mail," Sango told her as she handed it to her.

"Aye, a letter for help from an ailing woman," Kaede said as she opened it up and read it quickly. "I must go tend to matters. If you would excuse me."

Sango watched Kaede leave and looked down at the maid who was in bed.

"What happened?" Sango asked as she sat down next to her.

"It was Naraku...I was getting ready to head to bed last night when...he followed me in the hallway and took me against my will to his chambers. I put up a fight and I bit him and he..."

Sango's eyes widened as the maid pulled back the covers and revealed the bruises.

"He did that?!"

"Yes, and then he still had his way with me. I wished to save my innocence for the man I marry, but he took no pity upon me..." the young maid told her. "I am only here to gather enough money to send to my brothers and sisters who must live at home without me. Our parents died years ago...Though I am still so young, only fourteen, I am the eldest."

"I feel sorry for you," Sango told her. "Naraku...he's horrible. Something must be done about him..."

"Yes."

"Well, I must go now. I have to go deliver my last letter...One piece of advice, though. If he tries to do this to you again, don't bite him...kick him in between the legs and run away as fast as you can."

Kagome knocked on the door.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" she called from the outside.

The door opened and she entered the very large room that was dimly lit.

Standing by the window, she saw a tall man with long silver hair.

He stood straight and silent, statuesque.

"What is your business with this Sesshomaru?" he asked as he turned around, eyes glowing like a dogs, sending off an amber beacon.

He was very handsome indeed, and seemed to carry himself much more appropriately than InuYasha did.

"I have here a letter for you sir," Kagome said as she extended the mail.

He took it and turned back around.

"Leave me to myself. And do not disturb me again unless something important comes up. I haven't the time or patience to mingle with commoners, let alone humans."

"As you wish sir," Kagome said as she left.

She walked down the hall.

"Sheesh, he must a stick stuck halfway up his..."

"As if I wanted to come to this place again," Sango said as she approached Miroku's room.

Sango stopped before Miroku's door, hand poised to knock, but reluctant.

Her heart was beating erratically as she remembered their last encounter.

Swallowing hard and finally bringing her hand down, she knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Come in," she heard his voice say from inside.

She entered the room only to find Miroku standing in front of a full length mirror, turning to the side.

"Tell me," he said as he looked into the mirror. "Do these pants make my butt look fat or big?"

"What?!" Sango choked out.

"I've found that many young women in this kingdom are always asking if something makes them look fat...but really, what do you think?"

"I'm not going to look at your...bottom," Sango said with a blush.

"Oh come on, one look isn't going to kill you," Miroku told her.

Sango blushed as she looked at it quickly before looking away.

"Well?" Miroku asked.

"It looks like it's just mine..." Sango said. "No, it doesn't. I mean, it doesn't look like it's mine...it doesn't look like...ugh...mine, it looks very fine...ugh...I mean, just fine!"

Sango's cheeks looked like they were on fire as she shook her head.

Miroku laughed, which made her cheeks go to a darker shade that you wouldn't be able to think possible.

"Well...I'm glad you think it looks...fine," Miroku told her.

"This is most inappropriate interaction between us. I only came here to deliver this mail to you!" Sango said quickly as she handed him the envelope.

She turned around to leave, but he held on to her hand.

"Why are you in such a hurry? I hardly ever have company of such entertainment, or beauty," Miroku said as he kissed her hand.

"Well, I am not here for your entertainment or for you to gaze upon my looks. And I should tell you that I hardly ever have company that makes me look at their butts!"

"Oh? What happened to you saying...what was it? ...Oh, bottom? And for the record, I didn't make you look, you did it yourself."

Sango blushed.

"Well that was only because you insisted," she told him.

"And I must point out that it didn't take much insisting at all."

"Well what kind of a man asks a young woman to look at their...bottom? I wouldn't ask such a thing, that's for sure," she said.

Just then...

SMACK!

"And I definitely wouldn't ask a man to grope me either! I only looked! And you, you pervert, felt!"

Sango stormed out of the room and left Miroku to look at a red hand-print stretched across his face to take his mind off of looking at his...bottom...for a while...

Kagome sighed as she stood outside of Naraku's door.

This place gave her the creeps, no doubt about it.

She didn't trust this Naraku as far as she could throw him.

And believe it that she was strong enough to actually throw a man, too, though she definitely didn't look it.

Sighing again before groaning, she knocked on the door.

"It's open," she heard the hated voice say from inside.

Opening the door, she entered the room for the second time.

It was just as stifling, just as sinister, just as creepy and smothering.

Some little girl might be scared, though.

Some little lady might be scared.

But she...as much as her parents wanted her to be...at heart, was no lady.

When she was a child, she climbed trees, got her dresses dirty, spit on the ground, whatever she could to show them that she wasn't fond of acting like the perfect little girl.

But she learned how to play her cards right, fool them, and eventually get here.

She had never ever wanted to marry InuYasha, and she had a plan to get out of it.

If only she could play her current hand of cards right...

No, she wasn't afraid of this place, she was just highly aware of the threats Naraku afforded, and the creepy, sinister nature, the air about him.

She took a deep breath and stepped all the way into the room.

Taking a few steps from the door, she couldn't help but notice that the door had closed behind her on its own.

"Hello?" Kagome called, not seeing anybody in the room.

She continued to walk down the length of the dark area.

But what she didn't see was the man lurking in the shadows, waiting for her to walk by him before he walked behind her.

"Gome?" Sango called down the hall. She stopped by a maid they'd met the previous day. "Excuse me, have you seen my friend, Gome?"

"Yes, I saw her enter Naraku's room with his mail," the maid said.

Sango remembered what the maid she'd met earlier had told her, remembered the bruises and hearing about what Naraku did to her.

"Crap," Sango said as she hurried down the hall. "My parents would die if they heard me say that..."

"I guess...there's nobody here," Kagome said as she began to turn around.

Just then, two hands clamped on to her arms held her there.

"Oh, but somebody is here," she heard Naraku's voice hiss in her ear. "I knew you'd come around eventually."

"I only came around to give you your mail," Kagome said as she tried to get away from him. "Now let go of me."

"Oh, I can't let you go now," Naraku told her. "You see, once you enter, you don't exit before I have my fun."

"Oh? What fun?" Kagome asked.

"The kind between," he said as he started to undo her dress. "a man...and a lady such as yourself."

Kagome laughed at that.

"I assure you sir," Kagome said as she stepped on his foot, digging her heel into it. "I am no lady."

Dropping the envelope, she hurried from the room, opening the door only to bump right in to Sango.

"Hurry," Kagome said as she pulled Sango away.

"What happened?" Sango asked as they stopped a good length away from Naraku's chambers.

"That sicko tried to undress me so I dug the heel of my shoe into his foot and got out of there."

"Here, let me fix your dress," Sango said as she turned Kagome around and began to tie the strings back up.

"Thanks," Kagome said when Sango was done. "Next time, I'll have one of the guards deliver the mail to him or else I'll just slip it under the door..."

"That sounds like a plan to me."

"And next time, you'll be the one to do it," Kagome told her.

"Lets change the subject," Sango said as they started back walking down the hall. "So...what went on with InuYasha?"

Kagome laughed.

"He was throwing darts at a dart board when I entered the room, so I waited until he threw one and I caught it and threw it behind me without looking..."

"And?"

"It hit the bullseye and he looked shocked, mouth hanging open a bit, too."

Sango laughed.

"Well I'll have you know that Lady Rin enjoys reading books. And she also gets up earlier than you'd think somebody her age would. I met up with Kaede when she was trying to coax a maid out of bed to tell her what was wrong. As it turns out, Naraku had got to the maid. He raped her and beat her up and she has bruises everywhere that a blanket can hide one..."

"That's horrible," Kagome said. "Something has to be done about him."

"Yeah," Sango agreed. "So what about Lord Sesshomaru? What's your evaluation of him?"

"Oh, he's very mysterious, tall, handsome I must admit, and seems to think that commoners, especially human commoners, aren't worthy of his time. He seems to have a stick stuck up his..."

"Okay, I get the message," Sango told her.

"So..." Kagome said.

"So what?" Sango asked cautiously, almost afraid to find out.

"What went one with Miroku?"

Sango blushed.

"He...um...he..."

"Spill it," Kagome said, both of them now in the privacy of their own room.

"He...asked me if his pants made his but look fat...or...big..." Sango ventured slowly.

Kagome fell over laughing.

"And?!" she managed to choke out.

"And...nevermind...I only made it worse from there..."

"No really, what happened?"

"I...I accidentally told him that it looked like it was just...MINE...and things only got worse from there."

Kagome was trying really hard not to laugh, Sango could tell.

"Good thing you didn't say that it looked very fine or something because that would have made it worse!" Kagome giggled.

Sango looked at her with a very serious expression.

"Actually...I accidentally said that, too..."

"Sango, you really do slip up, don't you?"

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters associated with the anime/manga. Though I do give my undying gratitude to Rumiko Takahashi for creating such a wonderful story with such wonderful characters. But I do own any original characters that I may bring into this story, Can I Keep You, and the story itself.


	6. Remembering

Can I Keep You: Remembering

Chapter 6

Remembering

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Here's another chapter. Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them. I'm so happy that you're reading it that I'm going to put another story up, so look for it next week, please. Anyway, here's the chapter.

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Kagome opened her eyes and looked at InuYasha looking at her.

Her eyes widened.

"Wait. Did...uh...did we...uh...?"

"Yeah, we did," InuYasha said.

"Wow, that was...uh...amazing..."

"Yeah, you were pretty amazing..."

"Did you like it?"

"Not in the damn least," InuYasha said as he pulled the two darts out of the board. "You hit the damn bull's-eye and I didn't. Getting showed up by a maid or whatever the hell you are. Damn."

"Hey, you were the one who challenged me. If you couldn't take the heat, you shouldn't have thrown the dart at the board with your eyes closed."

"Feh, whatever."

Kagome shoved his mail at him and left the room.

It had been entirely his fault.

All she'd done was bring his mail to his room when he got on his egotistical sexist remarks once more, telling her that he could beat her with his eyes closed.

So the both threw a dart at the board at the same time with their eyes closed and Kagome had won.

InuYasha had been the last person on her list and she and Sango had walked about doing little odds and ends of things.

So far, the days had been uneventful.

If there was one thing that Kagome had learned so far, it was that InuYasha got plenty of mail.

She hadn't read any after that first letter and then she hadn't even bothered to finish that one.

This was her fiancé, her betrothed, her husband-to-be, the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with.

And this definitely wasn't a good impression of him that she was getting.

This was the man that her parents were determined for her to marry?

All those years ago...she'd been walking on thin ice with her parents.

But InuYasha pushed her over the edge and because of that, she ended up in finishing school.

And you might be wondering now, or might have wondered before about some of the things that went on in the years since Kagome and InuYasha met last.

Oh, well it's rather interesting really.

You see, Kagome and Sango went through five different instructors for their lady-like procedures.

First, there was Miss Yamata.

They use to love mimicking her whenever she turned her back away.

This teacher was known for saying outright blatant, bold, and disturbing things.

For example:

"Now, when dancing with a gentleman, don't let him get too close because he might try some funny business with his hands, moving them into areas like..."

Kagome and Sango pressed their hands over their ears so that they wouldn't hear it.

"And furthermore, they might try some funny business with parts other than their hands like..."

They pressed their hands over their ears again.

Not only was Miss Yamata outright with her use of words...Kagome and Sango knew full and well that she was an alcoholic.

Sometimes when they turned around, the woman would sneak a drink of something.

They could smell it on her.

And after their lessons were over for the day, they'd pretend to leave only to peek around the corner and see her pulling a forty ounce of only God knew what kind of alcoholic beverage out of her desk.

But that wasn't the half of it.

"We're done for the night. You may leave."

Once, they'd ended up having to take night lessons because they were too busy the whole day.

And they both thought that Miss Yamata was a bit too anxious to get rid of them, so...

"I still think she's too anxious for us to leave," Sango whispered as they walked down the hall.

"You're right."

"She seemed to have had lots to drink, too."

"Of course."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Don't play dumb with me."

"Well, " Kagome whispered as they approached the door. "We tell her we're leaving."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Bye Miss Yamata!" Sango called to her.

"See you next time!" Kagome called out.

"Fine children, bye!" the woman called out a little too eagerly.

Kagome opened the door, held Sango back, and closed it before pulling Sango around the corner.

They head Miss Yamata walk out into the hall to make sure that they were gone.

They then heard her footsteps walk away.

"Be very very quiet," Kagome whispered so low that Sango could hardly hear her.

Sango nodded and followed Kagome out into the hall.

They were walking very quietly, so quietly that they couldn't even hear their feet touch the floor.

They peeked around the corner and saw Miss Yamata stand up from her desk and open a door before calling.

"All right everybody! They're gone! It's party time!"

Before they knew it, a whole bunch of old people came through the door.

"Thank heavens. I thought they'd never leave!" an old man said before putting his arm around Miss Yamata and dipping her down before kissing her.

"Eww," both spying girls whispered.

Miss Yamata pulled out a whole bunch of alcoholic beverages out of her desk and threw them to everybody before pulling out something for herself.

She then climbed on top of her desk, kicked off her shoes, took a big drink of the stuff, and took off her wig and spun it around and around on her finger while she danced the funky chicken.

Kagome's father eventually found out about Miss Yamata's bold words, drinking, and nighttime parties and fired her.

That was when they met teacher number two.

That was Miss Komu.

Or maybe it was a Mr. Komu.

They weren't really sure at times whether or not that teacher was a woman or a man.

The chick had muscles the size of microwaves and a mustache.

And her voice didn't sound very feminine if you know what I mean.

"Drop down and give me twenty!" Komu yelled at Sango.

Sango got on the floor and began to do pushups.

"Not those girl pushups! You better do the man sit-ups, and don't stick your butt in the air either, lower it!"

Sango did as she was told and began to start on her pushups.

"One, two, three," Komu yelled. "Now why is it necessary for you to keep cross your legs?!"

"Because if you leave them open then the guys might get ideas," Sango squeaked.

"I CAN"T HEAR YOU!" Komu yelled.

"BECAUSE IF YOU LEAVE THEM OIPEN THEN THE GUYS MIGHT GET IDEAS!" Sango yelled back.

"Now that's better. Now when I was a young lady, just shy of fifteen, I attended a dance and I sat down and didn't cross my legs. A young man came by and asked me if I wanted to..."

"Too much information!" Sango cried.

"So then I learned to cross my legs...after I twisted his arm behind his back and kicked him."

Kagome's face twisted in amusement.

"Ah, I had plenty of men after me in those days. It must have been because of my muscles..."

Kagome laughed at that.

"What's so funny to you maggot?! Go to the bar and give me thirty lifts!" Komu yelled.

Kagome went to the bar and began to pull herself up.

And that was how she became strong enough to throw a man, in case you were wondering.

Anyway, when Kagome's parents noticed that Kagome and Sango were both too sore to do anything at all, they fired Komu and got them another teacher.

Teacher number three: Miss Layon.

They didn't call her Miss LAYON for nothing.

She use to work in a brothel for her own amusement.

"Now, when welcoming a male guest, you have to catch his eye. Make him know that you are happy that he is there. That is why when welcoming him, make sure that nobody else but him sees you raise up your dress and show him a little leg. You are lucky that you have such nice legs. Use them well because men like legs like yours," Miss Layon said.

Sango laughed.

"Now, men like ladies who give them what they want so if he by any chance asks to have some time alone with you, he wants to do more than walking and talking if you can get the concept."

"I'm not sure I want to know this one," Kagome whispered to Sango.

"Let him drag you off to a dark room. In fact, recommend a good one to him where you won't be disturbed. And then, let him slowly undo your dress. Now men like to undo the clothes so they can stroke your skin while they're doing it. Let him push you bed and..."

That was when Kagome's parents walked in and fired Miss Layon for her lessons on how to get laid.

Miss Layon was mildly amusing, quite interesting, and a...good...um...information source, but she was just as crazy as the first two teachers.

The fourth teacher was quite scary.

Miss Moki was even more disturbing and demented as the rest of them for one reason.

The chick was a dude pretending to be a woman!

"Now Kagome, let me show you how to dance," Moki pulled her to him.

He made her dance closely with him as he ran his fingers through her hair and stroked her skin.

Kagome ended up kicking him where it hurt most.

And later, she and Sango went sneaking to find out the truth.

That was when they saw him take off his wig and makeup and saw that he was a man like they'd thought.

After finding out about all this, Kagome's parents fired this teacher as well.

"Enough of this madness!" Kagome yelled at her father. I've gone through four teachers! The first one was a drunk, the second one was a bodybuilder he/she, the third one was a tramp, and the fourth one was a cross dresser trying to feel all over me! No more!"

"But we've found a good one this time," her father spoke.

"She is quite pleasant," her mother told her.

"And that's exactly what you said about them all! And look how it's turned out! I refuse to do this anymore!"

"But you need to learn the ways of a lady," her mother spoke.

"I think I've learned enough. I've learned how to get drunk, how to get muscles, how to get a man to..."

"Don't say that part young lady," her father spoke.

"And then I learned how to be a cross dresser. What more could I possibly learn, huh?!"

"You could actually learn how to be the lady we know you can be," her mother spoke.

"How about a bribe?" her father told her.

"Oh. Now I like your language," Kagome said as she sat down.

"How about, if you try this one last teacher and get through it...you can have archery, swordsmanship, and whatever other lessons within reason that you might want. And that goes for you, too Sango."

Kagome didn't even think twice about it before she said yes and neither did Sango.

Thank goodness that the fifth teacher was perfectly normal and wasn't strict at all, didn't drink, didn't lift weights, hadn't ever worked in a brothel, and was actually a woman.

In fact, Kagome and Sango liked her a lot.

After the teacher taught them all they needed to know, Kagome got to have her lessons in whatever she wanted and Sango was free to do what she wanted.

Kagome was mopping floors with Sango as they were talking about all of that.

But when they fell silent, their minds began to wander.

Kagome's wandered to InuYasha...

"I must say, you've given me quite the workout," InuYasha said. "But I knew you wouldn't have the balls to beat me. What happened? I thought you were going to knock me off of my high horse," InuYasha said in an egotistical voice.

He started to laugh and threw his head back before laughing harder.

"You know, you're wrong," Kagome said. "You were wrong about two things, was it, Master InuYasha?"

Kagome raised her leg and kicked him in between his legs hard, making him drop his sword and cross his legs before falling to the ground in pain.

Kagome jumped up and brought her sword right to his throat, less than an inch from his skin.

"The first thing you were wrong about," Kagome said defiantly. "Is that I couldn't have the 'balls' to beat you, because," she then took off her cape with one hand and threw it aside, "I…am a woman. And as we all know, women don't have balls, and by your shameful position right now, I highly doubt that you do either."

That was when Kagome beat him in the sword fight.

Sango remembered how Miroku was gazing at her after Kagome had beaten InuYasha in the sword fight and she blushed at the memory.

Meanwhile, Kagome was remembering...

InuYasha and Kikyo had reached the top of the staircase when Kagome and Sango made their true entrance, dresses changed into something much more beautiful as they stood in the doorway.

People looked at them and stepped aside, until there was a clean straight trail from them to the staircase.

"Look at those beautiful women," a man whispered.

"I've never seen such beauties around here before," another man whispered.

InuYasha looked back to see why everybody had suddenly become so quiet.

He could see that there was a clean line from the staircase to he doorway and standing in the doorway were two very beautiful women, the one in the blue dress catching his eye.

"He's sees us," Sango said. "We should get to walking; you walk a little ahead of me."

"I know," Kagome said.

They began walking towards the staircase, eyes straight ahead as they made a great impression.

When they were about halfway, Kagome looked up at InuYasha and winked at him.

He smiled, transfixed by her remarkable eyes.

Pushing Kikyo aside, InuYasha walked down the staircase and too the one in the blue dress, the one who'd winked at him.

He approached her slowly, trying not to look really anxious.

He stood in front of her, Kagome bowing slightly in his presence.

"My lord InuYasha, it is an honor to attend this party of yours. I aspire nothing but your happiness," Kagome said in a pleasant tone. "And yet I have nothing to offer you but my hand in a dance. Shall you take me up on my offer?"

"Arise fair maiden," InuYasha said in a proper way to impress. "I'll take you up on your offer."

Kagome stood up straight and held out her hand.

He took it and they began to dance.

He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They danced very closely.

Kikyo glared at the back of InuYasha's head before she turned around and stomped away.

Everybody else began to dance, too.

"I…haven't ever seen you around here before," InuYasha said. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from the northern lands, and I can only stay here for the night. I was here on a visit when I found out about your party. Unfortunately, I'll be leaving in the morning."

"That's a damn shame," InuYasha said. "Would you like for me to give you a private tour of the castle, since you'll be leaving so soon?"

"Why certainly," Kagome said.

InuYasha took her hand and led her up the staircase.

Kagome turned her head back and winked at Sango, who winked back.

That was when Kagome and Sango went to InuYasha's party.

Sango was still remembering Miroku and she remembered dancing with him at the party.

Then she remembered taking the towels to his bathroom.

Quietly opening the door, she entered without passing a look at all and closed the door.

"Why hello!" she heard a familiar voice say as she froze up.

"Um...I'm...I'm sorry...I...um..." Sango said.

"You came here to join me? How great!" Miroku said happily. "Come now, don't be shy. There's plenty of room for two."

"I didn't come here to bathe with you," Sango said sternly. "I came to bring these towels."

"And you can wrap up in one of them with me."

"I don't think I'll take you up on your offer."

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Miroku asked as he leaned forward and took a good look at her.

"No...I don't believe so," Sango lied.

"Ah, but I never forget a beautiful face. Have I seen you around town before or something?"

"I believe not. I arrived in town very recently with a friend. I just started work here today."

"What's your name?"

Sango frowned before saying, "It's Gogo."

"Gogo...you inject venom into the name when you say it."

"Well I hate the name."

"I think it's nice. Though such a beautiful face should warrant a name of equal beauty."

Sango blushed.

"Wait a minute. I can't believe I'm standing here having a conversation with a guy who's taking a bath. I have to get out of here," she said as she sat the towels down right by the tub.

As she turned to go, Miroku caught her arm.

"Don't forget, my offer for you to join me still stands," he said before he kissed her hand and let her go.

Sango left the room in a hurry, blushing as red as a cherry.

Sango blushed at the memory.

Kagome laughed at the memory of InuYasha looking shocked after she showed him up yet again.

Kagome watched InuYasha draw the bow and release the arrow while she brushed the horse.

"He's doing it all wrong. That's not how it's done at all," Kagome said to herself as she watched InuYasha practice.

"Excuse me?" InuYasha asked as he turned around, seeing Kagome there brushing his horse. "The hell I'm doing it wrong! You think you know better?"

"Snap. I forgot about his excellent hearing,' Kagome thought.

"Please. I could hit the mark blindfolded," Kagome said calmly as she continued to brush the horse.

"Then why don't you come over here and show me how the damn things done?" InuYasha challenged.

Kagome laughed lightly.

"No big deal. I'll come over and...school you...but only because your cocky demeanor warrants such a thing."

She sat the brush down and walked over to him.

She blindfolded herself and took a bow and arrow from him.

Standing before the target, she clutched the bow with her left hand and prepared the arrow with the other, pulling the string back and concentrating.

When she felt confident, she released the arrow and heard it hit.

Taking off the blindfold, she smiled in success as she saw that she'd hit the bulls eye.

"Now that, my dear prince, is how it's done," she said before going back to the horse, finishing brushing it, and going inside.

The look on InuYasha's face was classic.

Sango remembered when Miroku asked her the...question.

"Tell me," he said as he looked into the mirror. "Do these pants make my butt look fat or big?"

"What?!" Sango choked out.

"I've found that many young women in this kingdom are always asking if something makes them look fat...but really, what do you think?"

"I'm not going to look at your...bottom," Sango said with a blush.

How could he ask her something like that, she wondered.

And Kagome remembered InuYasha and the darts.

If there was one thing that the two of them had learned since they'd been there in the Western lands, it was that you were better off keeping a good distance away, especially if they asked you if they're butt looked big.

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Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters associated with the anime/manga. Though I do give my undying gratitude to Rumiko Takahashi for creating such a wonderful story with such wonderful characters. But I do own any original characters that I may bring into this story, Can I Keep You, and the story itself.


	7. Shopping and Spying

Chapter 7

Shopping and Spying

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Thanks for reading and reviewing, it means a lot to me. Somebody asked me if Kagome is still taller than Inuyasha. Well, Inuyasha was shorter than Kagome when they were younger, but now that he's older he isn't. He is taller than her now. Oh, and if you find the time, please read my new FMA story, "Best Friends and True Love". Here's the chapter.

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"Do you think it would work?" Kagome asked.

"Do you?" Sango asked her back.

"I think it would. After all, why not volunteer. It would give us a good chance to keep an eye on InuYasha and Miroku, too."

"Why Miroku?"

"Don't you play a fool."

"I'm not. He's not my type and I'm not the kind of girl for him, either," Sango insisted.

"Be not a fool. You're trying to convince yourself of that as much as you're trying to convince me. And it isn't working."

"You're wrong. And I think you're jealous, trying to keep an eye on InuYasha."

"No, I'm just trying to keep an eye on him to get my proof of his infidelity and unfaithfulness so that I can get out of this arranged marriage."

"Suuurrrreee," Sango said.

"I don't need to convince you. But we really need to go. I heard that the kitchen was out of bread, short of some meat, that young Rin requests a certain book from the book store, and that Kaede wants some medicinal herbs from Jinenji's garden. That should take long enough for us to get the stuff, watch InuYasha for a while, and get back without being too suspicious."

"It sounds good to me," Sango said. "As long as I can sit by the water fountain for a bit."

"That's a good suggestion. InuYasha will by near the water fountain anyway."

"Take time to relax. Sit by the water fountain and enjoy yourself. All of your ulterior motives can wait for at least two minutes," Sango told her.

"Fine, but I still plan on keeping an eye on InuYasha for a little while."

"Fine, whatever. Lets get to it."

They left their room and went to the kitchen and volunteered to go get the needed items for them. They then went and told Rin that they'd get her the book she wanted and then Kagome told Kaede that she'd get the medicinal herbs for her since she knew which kind was which and what Kaede would need.

Kaede was reluctant, but Kagome assured her that she knew what she was doing seeing how she was friends with somebody who was well versed in medicinal herbs and had taught her all that she knew.

It was a great plan.

Kagome could go get the needed items and keep an eye on InuYasha, too.

She was killing two birds with one stone.

She laughed lightly to herself as she got ready to go.

Sango looked at her like Kagome had gone completely mad and that only served to make Kagome laugh even more.

All of the horses were tied up in some sort of training and refreshers event so Kagome and Sango were forced to walk.

All of the horses...except the ones that were going to take Mr. Pampered Prince of Perfect Popularity into town, that is.

But they didn't really mind.

Back home, they went on walks together all the time, talking about everything and yet nothing at all as they took in the fresh air and the beauty of the world around them.

Kagome could remember one time, they'd gone out on a walk after it had rained.

Kagome had thought that it would be funny if she jumped into the mud.

But when she did, it the mud got all over Sango's new dress.

Yeah, she sure did have to do some running that day.

But after a while of chasing, Sango had gotten tired of it and picked up some mud and threw it at Kagome, hitting her right in the back.

Kagome then threw some at Sango, which hit her face.

So Sango got back at her by hitting Kagome in the face with mud, too.

The two stood there for a minute before they both erupted into giggles and laughs, throwing mud at each other, not caring just how dirty they were getting.

But don't think that the dry days were uneventful.

One year, Kagome had walked straight into a fire ant hill.

During the same year, Sango had laid down on the ground...on top of a bee.

And Kagome once tripped on a rock and fell flat on her face...after Sango tripped on it herself and kicked it there before Kagome coincidentally tripped over it.

So what went around came around and so on and so forth.

They decided to enjoy themselves on the walk and just relax.

That is, if you call relaxing turning cartwheels and back-flips, trying to show up the other.

What? Surely you didn't think that Sango didn't have a few moves of her own.

Try a half a year of gymnastics lessons for the both of them.

They finally reached the town.

It was busy and active with much talk of InuYasha's coming spreading around the place.

All of the young females were certainly very excited...

But that was putting it lightly...very lightly.

"I can't believe Prince InuYasha is coming!" a girl screamed.

"I wonder what he'll be wearing!" another girl screamed.

"It doesn't matter to me what he'll be wearing. I want to know what he WON"T be wearing!" another girl screamed before they all screamed together even louder than before.

Kagome had to press her hands over her ears, out of both disgust of what they'd said and the intensity of the sound of their very high pitched squeals.

After they got done screaming, Kagome glared at them dangerously.

But they didn't see it as they went back to talking about Kagome's husband-to-be.

"Hey, I heard that Lord InuYasha is engaged."

"To who?!" a girl said disbelievingly to the one who'd said it.

"To some princess in another kingdom," the girl said.

"Oh yeah. I heard about that. I've heard that she's mean."

Kagome growled.

She wasn't really mean, but she could be, especially to those girls.

"Well I heard that she's very homely and that he's only going to marry her for her fortune and for other opportunities offered by her parents."

Kagome growled even louder.

"Yeah? Well I heard that she's a little gold digger and that he'll be her fifth husband!" some girl said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Kagome's eyes nearly popped out of her head!

"Let me at them!" Kagome whispered angrily as she tried to make her way to the little gossiping jealous fools, but being held back tightly by Sango.

"Calm down Kagome. They're just trying to make themselves feel better about not being worthy. Don't sink to their level. Don't let it get to you. And most importantly, don't blow your cover!"

Kagome calmed down after listening to Sango's whispered words and took a deep breath.

"You're right Sango. Their little rumors are stupid. I know they're not true and so do you and that's all there is to it."

"I heard that Master Miroku will be coming with the Prince InuYasha!" one of the girls said loudly, trying to contain her excitement.

"Yes! Master Miroku's great!"

"Wonderful!"

"I remember earlier this year when he threw that party! And I really remember what happened afterward!"

"What?!"

"Well..."

"Let me at them!" Sango whispered angrily as Kagome held her back.

"Now Sango. Calm down. Remember what you said to me before."

"You're right," Sango said quietly. "It's just that..."

"I know Sango," Kagome whispered, making sure that nobody heard her use Sango's real name. "You're here with me for reasons of your own. But don't let them get to you. Take it easy."

"Fine," Sango said.

"They're coming!" the girls squealed along with practically every other girl in the town.

The screams became deafening and they were sure that their eardrums were going to bust.

It became even louder as InuYasha and Miroku got out.

Sesshomaru didn't come, but stayed at the castle.

And that was good because Kagome and Sango didn't doubt for a minute that the screams would have been even louder if he'd come along, too.

"Look at him," Kagome said to Sango as she watched InuYasha instantly be surrounded by a swarm of females. "He's eating it all up."

"Well, why not? I mean, he is a prince. What's wrong with publicity? What's wrong with having fans?" Sango said.

"Well, sure, when you're that important to a kingdom, publicity can be a good thing. As far as fans go, look at the fans he's surrounded by. All women. For once, I would just like for a man to walk up to him and briskly shake his hand, not a woman run up to him screaming her head off and trying to put her hands all over him."

"Point taken. Okay, so I get what you're saying..."

"I'm glad you do."

"Oh hey, look. There's a man walking up to him right now!"

Kagome looked over at InuYasha and saw the person approaching as her eyes got big.

"Sango, it may look like a man, but that's not a man..."

Sango looked.

"Oh...uh...sorry, it was an easy mistake to make."

"Yes, it was..." Kagome said.

Miroku looked over and saw Sango and gave her a small wave.

The girls surrounding him look at Sango and rolled their eyes before turning back to Miroku.

"Don't roll your eyes a me you little hussies," Sango called to them as she dragged Kagome into the nearby store to get some bread.

Miroku laughed as the girls stood there with shocked looks on their faces.

"That's so much bread..." Kagome said. "I think that'll be enough for now. Please bring it over to the castle as soon as possible."

"It shall be done," the man said as Kagome and Sango left the store.

"Hey, you go get the herbs for Kaede while I go take care of the meat situation," Sango suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Kagome said. "Meet me back here when you're done. Then we can both go get Rin's book."

"Sure. Bye."

Kagome entered the store called Jinenji's Garden.

There was an old woman at the front desk.

"Welcome," she said. "What can I do for you today?"

"Lady Kaede of the castle has sent me to pick out some specific medicinal herbs. Will this be a problem?"

"No, not at all. I trust that you know what you are doing?"

"Yes, I am well versed in the ways."

"Fine then. Jinenji, we have a customer."

The large Jinenji led her to the garden and she picked out what she needed.

Kagome came out of the store to find Sango sitting by the fountain, her hand in the water as she swished it around.

Kagome decided to just go get the book herself since Sango looked so content where she was at the moment.

Kagome entered the store.

"Excuse me ma'am. I come from the castle and Ms. Rin requested that I pick up a specific book for her enjoyment."

"Ah, yes. I have just what you're looking for. It was one of the books she wanted last time. We didn't have it then, but we do have it now," the old woman said. "I trust you know which one it is?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then go off that way."

"Of course."

Kagome went to the section where Rin's book was located.

'Let's see...It should be somewhere around here,' Kagome thought.

She looked up.

"Oh great," she said sarcastically, "it's all the way up there!"

She stood up on her tip toes and tried to reach it, but she couldn't reach it. It was just too high.

"Why did I even try that? It's two shelves up. Gosh, I'm so stupid."

"It looks like you need help," Kagome heard a familiar voice say behind her.

She turned around and jumped back, startled by the presence behind her.

But when she jumped back, she accidentally bumped into the huge bookcase and the book she needed coincidentally fell right into her hands.

"Okay...now what are the odds of that happening..." she said more to herself than she did to him.

"Well, when I said you needed help, I didn't mean to give it like that..." he said.

She realized fully just then that he was standing there and pulled herself together.

"Uh...Lord InuYasha. What are you doing here...uh...sir?" she forced.

"What? Did you think that I'd only be outside soaking up all that attention from those girls?"

'Yes,' Kagome thought.

"Uh, no, of course not," she lied.

"So what are you doing in here?"

"The young lady requested a book and I came here to get it for her," Kagome told him.

'But what about you? Surely you're not in here to dodge all those girls out there throwing themselves at you,' Kagome thought.

"That makes sense."

"But what about you? Surely you didn't come in here to give a maid like me some help."

"No, I came in here to see you struggle and squirm. It's really fun," he said.

"Such a gentleman," Kagome said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

'Ah, there's the prince of jerks emerging,' she thought.

"Well, I really have to go take care of this. If you would please excuse me my lord," Kagome said.

'Undercover. Remember, you're undercover...' Kagome repeated in her mind.

He watched as Kagome rushed off.

"I read books, too, you know," he called out. "That's why I'm here."

She didn't say anything or turn back.

Sango put her hand under the running water of the fountain and watched as it formed a pool in her hand that quickly filled up and ran down like a waterfall.

"Am I the only one who holds these memories dear?" she asked herself.

"Only if you are the only one who holds the memories at all," Miroku said from beside her.

"Ghaa!" Sango yelled.

"Whoa! Do I look that scary?"

"Oh...um...you just scared me. I didn't...uh...know you were there. Sorry."

"No worries. I'm used to girls screaming at me, just not in that way."

'I bet you are,' Sango thought, ' since plenty of these girls talk about screaming for you.'

"Right, like there were as soon as you showed up here today," Sango pointed out.

"Perceptive you are."

"No, just able to see what is obvious," she responded.

"Sure."

"Where is your fan club?"

"Waiting for me."

"Don't tell me you're running away from them."

"No, I was looking for InuYasha, and plus I wanted to find you."

"To...find me?" Sango said in a strange way.

"Yeah, I need you..." he began.

'He...needs me?' Sango thought.

"To get me the things that are on this list. They told me that you two were going into town, but you had already left. So now I can give this list to you. And now I must return to the ladies."

'He needed me...to run more errands?! Of course. What in the world was I thinking? I think that I need to go now.'

"Sure. Right away," Sango said as she took the list from him and jumped up. "Oh look. There's Gome! I must meet up with her. The deeds shall be done."

With that said, she hurried over to Kagome.

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"This undercover stuff can be so hard sometimes. Having to be polite to somebody you want to give a healthy chunk of your mind to," Kagome spoke.

"I hear ya," Sango said.

"Lights out you two," somebody called from outside the door.

"Okay," they both said in unison.

"I don't know about you, but I'm tired. I think I need some sleep," Kagome said.

"I don't doubt it. But being tired out is our fault. Now I know how the maids back home feel. They need more off days."

"I agree with you there Gogo."

"I'm sure you do GOME," she emphasized.

"You didn't have to stretch it out like that."

"Oh. You're right. Please allow me to apologize properly," Sango said.

"No, that's not necessary," Kagome said. "I'm o"

Kagome's sentence was interrupted by a pillow hitting her in the head.

Sango laughed.

"How's that for your apology?!"

"Wonderful," Kagome said. "Here. Let me return the favor!"

She threw it back at Sango.

"Oh you want to be like that, do ya?" Sango said.

"Yes, I do," Kagome said as she hopped up off of the bed.

"Well bring it on sister."

"Oh, it's already been brought," Kagome said as she swung the pillow and whacked Sango's head.

"Bring this!" Sango said as she swung back.

"No, I'll bring this instead," Kagome said as she used her pillow to hit Sango's pillow out of her hand.

"Oh man..." Sango said.

"Mwahaha! You have no weapon to wield against me now! What are you going to do? Huh? What now?!"

"This!" Sango said as dashed for her pillow and blocked Kagome's with her own.

"I hope you like eating feathers, because I'm going to shove shove them down your throat," Kagome laughed.

"Sorry, I'm not sharp so it's not going to get torn open," Sango giggled.

They heard footsteps approaching their room.

"Oh no. Quick, pretend to be sleeping," Sango whispered.

They both took their pillows and hurried in bed and covered up.

The door opened for a minute and then closed as the footsteps faded away.

When they didn't hear a single sound, they sat up.

"That was close. We made too much noise," Kagome whispered.

"Well, at least we had some brief entertainment," Sango whispered back.

They both laughed quietly.

"I guess it'll have to be enough for one night. We really need to get to sleep."

"Yes, I shall attempt to go to sleep. Night."

"Night."

Little did they know, somebody was outside of their door listening, watching, waiting.

Waiting, but for how long?

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	8. Dining Toleration

Can I Keep You: Dining Toleration

Chapter 8

Dining Toleration

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I want to thank all of you for reading and those who reviewed! I'm happy you like my story. Today is update day, so I still have to hurry up and update "Best Friends and True Love", so now I must leave you to read this chapter while I go do that. Here it is.

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Kagome thought long and hard about it.

She wasn't sure if she should do it or not.

Sango looked at Kagome, watched her stall, watched her beat around the bush, and watched her get on her last nerves!

"Will you just do it already?!!" Sango released her frustration as she pushed Kagome toward the door.

"You know not just how difficult this proves to be!" Kagome said as she glared at Sango and rolled her eyes.

Sango looked at Kagome and sighed.

"I see this appears to pose a problem for you. So here, let me offer my assistance," Sango said.

"Great, that would be most wonderful," Kagome said. "You can..."

She was interrupted by Sango pushing her straight into the room.

"San!" Kagome began, shutting up when she saw a maid walk past them. "I mean GOGO! How dare you?!!!!!!!"

Sango laughed at her as she closed the door behind them and shook her head.

"I thought you were the mighty princess who didn't bow down to fear. Surely you jest when you pause before a harmless door."

"I fear no such thing as a door, or this room. I can just feel something sinister. Something bad will come of this, I know it. I merely attempt to prepare myself for what I know is to come. Ideas on what's coming, I do not have, but I know..."

"I get it I get it. You sense a foreboding aura approaching like a bad storm, blah blah blah. The fact of the matter is...Our duty is to prepare this room. We have to uphold our jobs and get to work," Sango told her as she snatched the broom from Kagome's hand.

"I work this job because my plan requires a suitable disguise. This disguise provides me with the best benefits. Now if I hear another attempt at being stern with the princess of the eastern lands, I shall be forced to seek out Master Miroku and tell him that you are in need of assistance with more than cleaning."

Sango glared at Kagome as she swept the floor with more force than necessary.

Kagome merely laughed at her and picked her the bowl of water Sango had sat down before snatching the broom from her.

She walked over to a window, pulled back the curtains, and began to wash it.

She dipped the cloth back into the water and returned to the washing of the window.

As she did so, she took notice of a certain prince outside walking around with an apprehensive look on his face.

He appeared to be muttering something to himself, but she was too far away and too high up to conceive any thoughts of hearing what he was saying.

Kagome watched him raise his hands up in the ear as if asking some kind of a question before returning to his walking.

"Kagome," Sango said, "Did you hear me?"

She followed Kagome's gaze and laughed.

"If you look long enough, you won't be able to move your eyes," Sango said.

"Huh?" Kagome said as she took notice of Sango's presence.

"I said that this room is pretty fancy. I wonder who's going to be staying here that they told us most urgently to prepare it with perfection as their desire."

Kagome finished washing the window and dried her hands off before shrugging helplessly.

"Maybe it's a nobleman. A strong ally of the kingdom," Sango suggested.

Kagome took a short glance about the room before shaking her head.

"Find you not it odd that they'd fit a nobleman with a room more suited for a woman?"

"Noblewoman, then," Sango said.

Kagome threw herself onto the bed and let her head fall on to the most comfortable looking pillow she saw.

Sango finished sweeping the floor.

The room was huge.

Of course, their rooms back in the castle in the east were bigger, more suitable for a women of their status.

But this room wasn't anything to be looked down upon.

Kagome washed the other windows, seeing InuYasha glance in the direction of that room every now and then before disappearing inside the castle.

They made the bed and made sure that the room was spotless, picking some fresh flowers for a lonely vase that sat waiting for something to happen.

They were finally satisfied with their work and saw that Kaede seemed pleased as she walked by.

A small party was to be held that night.

It was in honor of the mystery guest.

It appears that this guest was going to be staying for a little while to discuss political matters with the nobles of the area before moving on to the Northern lands.

They knew that they'd be working more tonight since this party seemed very important.

When everything seemed to be perfect, the staff was gathered together and given a short speech on the importance of success before departing to their duties.

Kagome and Sango were discussing how disturbing an aura Naraku let off when they were alerted that the guest had arrived.

They made it to the main door just in time to see InuYasha walk by them and go outside, standing out front.

A fancy golden carriage approached the castle and came to a halt, the door right in front of InuYasha.

It opened and out came an arm, an outstretched hand.

InuYasha took it in help and the next thing Kagome saw was a woman's slender leg before the rest of the woman let InuYasha help her out.

He bowed before her and kissed her hand, Kagome growling slightly as she narrowed her eyes at this woman.

"Wait a minute...If my memory does not fail me, I think I've seen her before," Kagome said.

"Yeah...at that party..." Sango said.

"InuYasha had been dancing with her..."

"Oh no. This is most horrible," Miru said as she came to a stop in between Kagome and Sango. "My lady, I think that it is best that I tell you about her."

Kagome watched InuYasha lead the woman inside, people bowing before her before InuYasha led her out of sight.

"Follow me," Miru said as she led them to their secret room in which they discussed the secret content of the plan that was in effect.

"Who is she?" Kagome asked as she leaned against a wall.

"Princess, that is Lady Kikyo," Miru told her.

"Kikyo...Kikyo..." Kagome muttered. And then her eyes widened in acknowledgment. "Wait! I saw her at the party...dancing with him! But..."

"But I feel I should think we've seen her before!" Sango said as she snapped her fingers and looked at Kagome with a brief look of horror filling her eyes.

"It's her!" Kagome said, stomping up and down slightly.

"I'm afraid so," Miru told her. "That same rude maiden who insulted you before is here."

"Insulted me? She attempted to do more than that! I was but nine years old. I shall never forget that day she visited my castle to promote peace with her land. My parents might have bought her act, but I found myself most able to see through it!"

Kagome growled slightly.

"I find myself with a slightly sour taste in my mouth at the thought of her memory," Sango spoke. "But Miru, you haven't told us everything."

Miru nodded miserably.

"My princess, I wish not to upset you, but the truth cannot always be watered."

"It must be told. You might as well inform me," Kagome said as she tried to calm down.

"I do not wish to spread a rumor or say anything that I don't know for a fact," Miru said. "But as you could see from their dancing before, they press flesh and seem most friendly with one another. I have been led to one conclusion. It is my belief that Lady Kikyo is Master InuYasha's mistress."

Kagome was not happy with this bit of information. It took Sango a little while to calm Kagome down enough to leave the room.

She didn't like Kikyo to begin with.

To know that a witch like her was overly friendly with her fiance was like salt in an open wound.

It stung her badly and left her hurt.

"Think back to what we were told in our lady lessons," Sango told her. "A lady conceals her true feelings in times that it may cause disaster!"

And if Kagome revealed her feelings, Sango was sure that it would all turn out to be one big disaster.

They turned the same corner InuYasha had only to find him and Kikyo standing before a door, greeting the nobles of the land before they made their ways into the dining area.

They knew what there were supposed to do.

They were told to be in that room and stand by and offer their services when needed.

Kagome found no problem in this since she wished to keep a close eye on InuYasha and Kikyo. She was going to stand by and listen to what was being said and to watch what was being done.

They hurried to the kitchen with some others to get the rest of the food, that which hadn't already been laid before the assembled at the table.

Kagome pulled Sango aside and whispered to her.

"Sango, you are aware of how I feel toward Kikyo. And I'm sure that you know just how I feel toward this situation. I cannot promise that nothing will happen."

Sango sighed.

Kagome got a bottle of the requested wine and lead Sango back to the dining room, quite ready to face whatever evil Kikyo had waiting.

Kikyo was sitting right next to InuYasha, quite close in fact, too close.

For a second, Sango thought Kagome was going to throw the bottle of wine straight at Kikyo's head as she raised it, but instead, much to Sango's relief, Kagome stepped forward and offered to pour it to those who wanted some.

"Wine, my lady?" Kagome said as she approached Kikyo.

"Well, if it's anything secondhand like you, I don't think so," Kikyo told her.

Sango's mouth shot wide open as she thought she'd have to step in the line of fire and save Kikyo, but Kagome simply smiled.

"Of course it's not my lady. And it's certainly not known as third-hand trash like some I've known of," Kagome told her as she filled the glass.

'It could have been much worse,' Sango thought as she let out a sigh of relief. 'But really, fourth-hand was much more fitting a suggestion.'

"Well," Kikyo said. "It seems that it is lovely wine, way out of some people's league."

'If it's out of the league of royalty like me, why do I let you drink it?' Kagome thought.

"Servant girl," Kikyo said. "More wine, if you would, and I know you will."

"Why of course," Kagome said as she refilled Kikyo's glass.

"Lady Kikyo," Rin spoke. "Our people of services are more than willing to tend to your needs, of course.

"Work hard and maybe you just might get two cents raise," Kikyo told Kagome as she began to raise her glass to her lips.

Kagome immediately turned around to offer InuYasha wine, purposely bumping Kikyo and almost making her spill some of the drink on herself.

"Looks to my eyes that you got a raise instead," Kagome told her. "Sorry ma'am."

"You are very lucky I did not end up in such a mess. Lord InuYasha, that was too close of a call."

"I am so very sorry, my prince," Kagome said as she turned to InuYasha. "I was going to offer you 'wine,' not 'whine'."

"I wouldn't risk it," Kikyo spoke.

"Surely you would enjoy a bit of wine," Kagome said as she forced her way in between Kikyo and InuYasha.

She poured the wine in his glass and stepped back, making her way back to Sango's side.

Sango was looking half amused, half disappointed as Kagome turned to her with a look of satisfaction on her face.

She handed her the bottle of wine and hurried to offer Rin a glass of something that was more suited for one of her age.

"I would like some wine," Miroku called out to Sango, who looked at Kagome in panic for a moment before nodding gracefully and making her way to Miroku's side.

"I hope it is to your liking, sir," Sango said as she poured his glass full and began to step back.

But Miroku caught her by the arm and stayed her at his side.

"Nothing is to my satisfaction yet," Miroku told her.

She staved off a blush and nodded.

He finished the glass of wine and motioned for her to pour him more.

"So Lord InuYasha," Kikyo spoke. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't your fiancee supposed to be coming to the western lands for a visit not long ago?"

InuYasha took a sip of his wine.

"Princess Kagome was coming to reintroduce herself to me, yes, but regretfully, something came up," InuYasha said before returning to his former activity of eating.

"Such bad news. I'm sure from hearing the details of your last meeting, you couldn't wait to see her again. I met her before myself."

"Interesting," InuYasha said.

"What happened?" Miroku asked, as she poured more wine into Sesshomaru's glass, careful not to disturb him in the least as she did it.

"I wish not to dishonor the name of your betrothed," Kikyo spoke as she looked at InuYasha, "but all did not go as smoothly as hoped."

Sango looked over at Kagome, wondering how this one would go.

"The meeting between InuYasha and the princess did not proceed as planned," the Inu no Taisho spoke as he looked toward InuYasha. "But my son was no help in preventing the hindering of the plan."

"She was most rude to me and I found myself being insulted. But I wished only to promote peace, so I attempted to get along as best as I could with her."

"Such is Lady Kikyo," a noble of the lands spoke. "She's always had the hope of peace in her heart."

'What heart could he be speaking of?' Kagome thought with an inward snort.

"Among many things, she told me that my pretty orange dress made me appear to be a dead goldfish," Kikyo said, a fake tear in her eye.

Kagome's eyes narrowed dangerously.

'I didn't say that, she did!' Kagome thought.

"I hold no grudges, it was such a long time ago. I was but nine. But truthfully, I hope for your sake that she no longer resembles a dead goldfish herself."

Kikyo worked up few more fake tears and threw herself into InuYasha's arms for comfort she didn't need.

Kagome's composure left her as she picked up a knife and made her way toward Kikyo quickly, walking past Miroku where Sango was refilling his glass with wine.

But Sango immediately sat the bottle of wine down and snatched the knife out of Kagome's hand, turning to Miroku.

"Would you require assistance cutting that meat, sir?" Sango asked, glancing over at Kagome and making sure that no other sharp objects were within reaching distance.

Unfortunately, there was, but Kagome had pulled herself back together and stepped back.

Sango sighed with relief and finished cutting the meat and made sure to sit the knife down in a safer location.

"Children will be children," Naraku spoke from where he sat. "They act out of order at their time, but they grow out of such delinquent ways."

"Of course," Kikyo spoke as she returned to her meal.

"Prince Sesshomaru," Kikyo said. "Why so quiet? If I've heard correctly, you have plenty to speak about."

Sesshomaru didn't look up from his food, but he did grace her with a reply.

"I have plenty to speak of, but I wish not to do so. All I say is that all is going according to what has been hoped," Sesshomaru spoke before falling into silence once more.

"Then I am happy to hear that you are doing well," Kikyo said as ran her fingers through her hair.

"My son thanks for your considering of his success," the Lord of the western lands told her. "I hope that you find everything here to your liking and enjoy your stay here."

"I have no doubt in my mind, my lord, that it will all go great," Kikyo told him.

Kagome stood off to the side with Sango, listening to the now shifted conversation.

She suddenly got the feeling that she was being watched, and did not like the feeling.

She did not move her head or look anywhere, but she could see out of the corner of her eye that Naraku was looking at her, leering at her, eying her as if she were a piece of meat of something.

The princess felt very much uncomfortable, but gave him no indication that she was aware of his sick staring.

Kagome thought back to InuYasha's birthday party, thought back to when she saw Kikyo with him.

She'd heard every word that was said, she'd seen every movement, and yet even when he said the name Kikyo, she hadn't put two and two together.

"Oh Master InuYasha, dance with me!" one girl cried.

"Oh please dance with me!" another girl begged.

"Master InuYasha, why don't you dance with me?" Kikyo asked as she joined the crowd.

Kikyo extended her hand and he took it, letting her help him out of the crowd.

They danced slowly, closely, making the other women jealous.

"It's been a while Master InuYasha," Kikyo said.

"Sure has, Lady Kikyo," InuYasha said.

Kagome and Sango stuck nearby.

Kagome watched the way they danced, they way they whispered things in each other's ears.

"You see that Sango?" Kagome asked. "They're getting fresh with each other. Oh, now he's leading her up the stairs."

"Kikyo's so lucky. Master InuYasha has always fancied her over everybody else," a village girl said.

"Now's the time," Sango said.

"Yes," Kagome agreed.

InuYasha and Kikyo had reached the top of the staircase when Kagome and Sango made their true entrance, dresses changed into something much more beautiful as they stood in the doorway.

'Who knows what would've happened if they'd gone any farther than that staircase,' Kagome thought.

"I am very much looking forward to my stay here," Kikyo spoke. "Days here shall get me prepared for my journey."

'Days?' Kagome thought.

'I'll be hiding all of the knives,' Sango thought as she asked leave of the room and took Kagome with her, avoiding any other conflict that may come at that dinner.


	9. Sabotage

Can I Keep You: Sabotage

Chapter 9

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As always, thank you for reading and reviewing. I know you've been wondering what Kagome will do to Kikyo and here's the beginning of it! Here's the chapter.

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Sabotage

"You have behaved most wildly," Sango told Kagome as she stopped her outside of the dining room. "You risk all of our plans being destroyed!"

"No, I don't," Kagome told her. "I'm just getting my revenge and trying to assure that she doesn't get too fresh with my fiancè."

"Since when did you care about your fiancè?"

"Do you expect me to show no concern over the matter at hand?" Kagome asked.

"Servant girl," Kagome heard Kikyo say from the dining room door. "I require you to go to my room and unpack my belongings. Don't wrinkle anything or break a single item or else I will see to it that you are broken."

"Right away, my lady," Kagome said in a sugary voice, even though it was the farthest thing from what she really wanted to say.

Kikyo went back inside and Kagome began walking down the correct hallway, Sango close behind her.

Sango ran to Kagome's side and put her hand on her arm to stop her.

"Hey, remember you that other time she came for a visit to your castle?"

"Which time do you speak of?"

"The time when you put a sabotaged cushion in her chair before she attended breakfast? The time when she sat down and..."

"I believe that I shall never forget that."

"Do you remember the chaos that occurred afterward? You are inviting the evil of trouble into our folds!" Sango told her as she matched Kagome's pace.

"You look too much into a situation. I plan not on doing anything to her unless she continues to disrespect me or if she decides to pretend that he isn't engaged...to me!"

They made their way to Kikyo's room and Kagome did as she was told, without causing any harm to any of Kikyo's possessions.

Sango seemed very relieved and pleased that Kagome hadn't done anything.

But the night was still young and Sango was afraid that something would end up happening before it was all said and done.

While Kagome and Sango were in Kikyo's room, Kagome got the weirdest feeling that she was being watched, as if somebody somehow was watching her every move.

She didn't like feeling so strangely vulnerable and scrutinized.

Being a princess, she knew how it felt to be watched, and she knew that somebody was watching her.

Halting Sango's movements and walking quietly to the door, Kagome threw it open and looked in both directions, seeing nothing.

"What's wrong?" Sango asked her as she came to her side with a look of worry on her face.

"Nothing, nothing. I only got a feeling of being watched, and it was a feeling that I did not enjoy," Kagome told her as she pulled Sango out the door with her.

As soon as they left the room, Kagome felt relieved that she didn't feel eyes on her any longer, other than those of Sango.

The day had been long and kept them both on their feet for a long time.

They were very relieved when they got back to their room and collapsed on their beds.

They didn't care if it was a king sized bed as comfortable as a cloud, or a lumpy small mattress, as long as they got to sleep as soon as possible.

Kagome had a strange dream where InuYasha was sitting like a dog with a collar around his neck and Miroku was dressed in a clown suit while Sango did jumping jacks and she dyed puppies all the colors of the rainbow.

She woke up and sat up quickly, looking around her to make sure that InuYasha wasn't there asking for a bone or that Sango wasn't trying to get her to do push ups with her.

She was relieved to see that it was just a dream, getting out of her bed and walking extra quietly to Kikyo's room, opening the door.

Seeing the motionless form in the bed, she closed the door once more and went back to her own room.

She was just making sure that Kikyo wasn't sneaking about the halls trying to get with InuYasha.

Satisfied that everything was okay, she went back to her room and went back to her bed, falling asleep once more.

Waking up the next morning bright and early, Kagome took care of her personal business before heading to get the mail with Sango.

"Damn," InuYasha said as he stood in the doorway. "Miroku, did you sneak something up here last night? You look completely drunk."

Miroku groaned and collapsed back onto his bed as InuYasha rolled his eyes.

After the dinner, InuYasha noticed that Miroku had disappeared and could only assume that he was no longer in the castle.

Where he went and what he did were unknown to the prince, but he wasn't about to try to find out.

"Look at that," Miroku said. "Quite the turn out, even though you got beat up by a woman."

"That woman didn't beat me," InuYasha said sharply. "I was clearly better, but I have to admit, she's damn good with a sword."

"And that's why she beat you."

"That's bull. I didn't get beat by a woman, but at least I've gotten dates," InuYasha said.

"I get dates I'll have you know," Miroku said.

"Oh really," InuYasha said. "How about that party I threw last year. You went on and on about that chick that was going to come with you and what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Miroku said.

"She said that she was washing her hair, but she showed up at the part with somebody else."

"I'll have you know that the ladies love me," Miroku said. "That was just one girl."

"What about that girl who was going to come with you tonight?" InuYasha asked.

"She had a family emergency, she couldn't come," Miroku said.

"She told you that her grandmother died…only her grandmother supposedly lives in the southern lands and she'd been gone for a while. And I think I see her down there next to that door," InuYasha said as he pointed.

Miroku followed his finger.

"Hey, that's her," Miroku said. "Okay InuYasha, I get your point. But still, plenty of ladies love me."

InuYasha was only teasing Miroku then.

Miroku was quite popular, too popular for his own good.

But Miroku thought that he could never get too popular.

InuYasha sighed at his friend's stupidity and left the room.

Kagome sealed the envelope and made sure to give it to slip it into the mailman's bag before she got the mail for the castle.

She'd written her parents a letter.

Dear mother and father,

My time here at Prince InuYasha's home has been very interesting. So far, I've been able to learn

quite a few things that I think are important in our relationship. I must say, Sango had turned out

to be as cautious and worrying as ever. She hasn't taken the time to stop and smell the roses,

especially those really beautiful ones out back. Do you think it not troubling that There are so

many things to be taken care of? How are the political affairs going? I do so hope that father can

maintain peace with the neighboring lands. Finding a common cause to commit to should help

ease whatever tension might still be looming in the air. I rested incredibly well last night. So many

events occurred during the day that I was exhausted, but I enjoyed the sleep. You might find it

hard to believe that I wake up bright and early even though we all know that I rather love sleeping

late into the day. But I didn't come here to sleep my days away. When I return, you'll find out

exactly what it is I've been up to. I'm looking forward to that time. Please take care.

Your daughter,

Kagome.

After delivering the mail, Kagome decided that it would be nice to go out and enjoy the fresh air,

but almost got mowed down by the horse that Kikyo was riding.

Kikyo hadn't even taken the time to look back and see if Kagome was okay.

Kagome got up and dusted herself off, but glared daggers at the back of Kikyo's head.

Kagome heard a voice in the back of her head and remembered one of her teacher's, Ms. Komu's, words.

"If somebody decides to knock you off your feet, jump right back up and beat the pudding out of them!! You got that?"

"Yes."

"I can't hear you!"

"Yes!"

"Good, now drop and give me twenty. Then give me twenty more!"

Beating Kikyo up sounded great, but Kagome remembered what her fifth teacher had told her, Ms. Midoriko.

"Princess, no matter what somebody does to you, keep your head held high and dust yourself off. They may try once more to discourage you, but you can always settle for not giving them the satisfaction.

Kagome smiled at the reminder and enjoyed the fresh breeze before spotting Kikyo riding her horse right next to InuYasha on his.

Kagome growled and threw something at the horse, making the horse throw Kikyo from its back and making Kikyo land in the water.

Satisfaction lit her face as she went back inside.

Kagome thought back to what Kikyo had said about her before, and then remembered what she'd heard the town girls say when she'd first arrived.

She remembered that some of the girls were spreading rumors about her being a gold digger or that InuYasha was going to be her fifth or who knows how high a number husband.

"Hey, I heard that Lord InuYasha is engaged."

"To who?!" a girl said disbelievingly to the one who'd said it.

"To some princess in another kingdom," the girl said.

"Oh yeah. I heard about that. I've heard that she's mean."

Kagome growled.

She wasn't really mean, but she could be, especially to those girls.

"Well I heard that she's very homely and that he's only going to marry her for her fortune and for other opportunities offered by her parents."

Kagome growled even louder.

"Yeah? Well I heard that she's a little gold digger and that he'll be her fifth husband!" some girl said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Kagome's eyes nearly popped out of her head!

Did girls in her kingdom gossip like that and talk about her behind her back?

She hoped not.

These girls were absolutely horrible.

But now that she thought about it, she wouldn't be surprised to find out that Kikyo had started those rumors.

When she suggested it to Sango, the woman merely rolled her eyes and said that Kagome was making things up now.

She claimed that Kagome was trying to see the worst in people, but Kagome told her no, that it was just Kikyo.

Sango ignored her after that.

Kagome went to the town.

Without Sango knowing, she'd agreed to tutor a nine year old girl who hadn't learned how to read or write.

Sango probably would have told her she shouldn't do it since she probably would've thought that it would interfere with their mission.

Kagome rolled her eyes at the thought and smiled at the little girl.

"Okay Mika," Kagome said as she took the pencil and wrote a letter on the piece of paper. "Can you tell me what letter this is?"

"Um..." the little girl said, looking at it for a few seconds. "It's an R?"

"That's correct. Lowercase or uppercase?"

"Lowercase," the girl said.

"That's right. Good, you're making promising progress."

"Thank you Miss Gome."

"No problem. You just continue to try your best."

"Okay," the girl smiled brightly.

"Fine. Now can you tell me what this says?"

Kagome wrote down something.

"It's my name!" the little girl said. "M I K A."

"Great. I wish you to copy it now, try to write it on your own."

The little girl took the pencil from her and leaned toward the paper, copying the neatly printed letters as best she could, but making Kagome smile.

"There?" Mika said.

"There. That's good," Kagome told her. "I'll go inside for a moment to get another piece of paper."

Kagome vanished inside the house.

Kagome had come to the little girl's house and had been for about a week.

It was better than ever now because she could escape being anywhere near Kikyo.

Mika's brother, Cho, came to sit next to her.

Kagome was teaching him to read, too, or so she thought.

In truth, he could read and write great, and he should considering he was twelve, but played dumb just so he could be close to Kagome.

"Thank you for teaching Mika," the children's mother said. "I'm afraid that I'm just too busy and it's quite challenging being a single mother."

"Worry not of any problem. I enjoy passing my knowledge down to children."

"Though I think it important you should know, their father was a teacher himself and taught Cho how to read. He pretends not to know."

"I already guessed that," Kagome told her. "I'll flatter him for just a bit longer," Kagome laughed.

Kagome came back outside with more paper and sat down in between the two.

"Okay," Kagome said. "Cho. It's your turn. Can you spell your name for me?"

"Um...I'll try," he said as he picked up the pencil."

Z E O, he wrote.

Kagome laughed on the inside, but smiled in fake encouragement.

"That's perfect," Kagome told him. "You wrote it in just the right way."

He looked at her as if she were crazy and looked back at the paper.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I know I'll get better. I just need you here to teach me more, Miss Gome. How about you don't leave?"

"Sorry," Kagome told him. "I have a job at the castle. I'm sure you'll get better. I know what. I'll write something on the paper and I'm sure that you'll be able to read it. It's a little poem."

"Fine," Cho said. "A poem just for me!"

She hid what she was writing from his view and then handed it to him when she was done.

'Roses are red, violets are blue. I know I can read and I know you're pretending not to.'

His shoulders slumped and he sighed.

"Look," Kagome told him. "Let me give it to you nice and easy. You're a wonderful kid. Lucky a girl will be some future day. But I'm eighteen, you're twelve. I'm sorry, but it won't work out."

"Be it might what people call robbing the cradle? Oh servant girl, you're that desperate?" Kikyo said from outside of her carriage.

"I'm not desperate," Kagome told her. "I find myself preventing hurt feelings."

"Well, we can't all have wonderful princes like InuYasha," Kikyo told her.

"No, we can't, but since when do you? I believe it true that he is engaged to a beautiful princess of the east," Kagome threw out there.

"It matters not. Just like you don't matter, either."

"Don't talk to Miss Gome like that," Mika told Kikyo. "She's prettier and nicer and smarter than you are!"

Mika kicked Kikyo in the leg and ran behind Kagome before sticking her tongue out at Kikyo.

"I'm going back to the castle. I find it not in my tolerance to be in the presence of delinquents."

With that said, Kikyo limped back to the carriage and left.

Kagome hi fived Mika.

"Little lady, you're quite like I was at your age. Did you ever consider learning to use swords, shoot an arrow, how to fight?"

Kikyo had flipped her hair over her shoulder over and over, as if mocking Kagome who had hers hidden under a scarf as she swept the floor in Kikyo's room and made sure the room was still perfect.

"I could say that I haven't always had long, beautiful hair, but I'd be lying," Kikyo said as she ran the brush through her hair.

"Of course not," Kagome told her. "I can't imagine somebody like you not looking so beautiful always as they should."

"Words are your ally, servant girl. Yes, I can't imagine a day when my hair doesn't look wonderful."

"Of course," Kagome said. "I simply can't imagine it either."

Kagome went away and came back again with a bit of water and a cloth to clean the mirror.

"And I can't imagine a day without that shampoo. It works wonders for me," Kikyo said. "As you can see, you're not lacking need for it, yourself."

"Good shampoo, my lady," Kagome said as she wiped the mirror.

"I must go now," Kikyo said. "Though I owe you no explanations, I shall alert you to the fact that I shall be riding on the castle's finest horse next to Prince InuYasha. When I come back, I shall expect my bathroom to be supplied with fresh towels as I plan to clean up afterward."

"Sure," Kagome told her.

'All the water in the world cannot wash away the filth of your ego,' Kagome thought.

Kikyo walked toward the door, but before she left, she said, "Servant girl, please be careful not to dirty anything of mine. I don't want to catch a 'I'm dirt poor' virus."

With that said, she was gone, laughing loudly, and Kagome stood there glaring at the door.

Kikyo's laughter rang in her ears as she went to the kitchen, careful to make sure nobody was around, and sneaked into one of the cabinets, taking out a big bottle of something.

Going back to Kikyo's room without being seen, she picked up Kikyo's shampoo, poured the contents of the bottle inside, shook it up, and made sure nothing looked suspicious.

She disposed of the bottle immediately and went on her way.

Kikyo had no idea what she was in for after her time with InuYasha.

She had no idea.


	10. A Relief and a Contest

Can I Keep You: A Relief and a Contest

Chapter 10

A Relief and a Contest

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Thanks so much for the reviews! They made me very happy so I updated! Hanyoulover4ever (LOL! That was sooo funny!) The Sky Goddess (I'm sorry about chapter 9 confusion! As for your questions, telling you would be giving too much away now, wouldn't it? You'll have to wait and see!) I appreciate all of your reviews! Thanks again! Here's the chapter.

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Kikyo's scream was heard all throughout the castle, ringing in everybody's ears and bringing a very satisfied smile to Kagome's face.

She quickly changed her expression to one of shock and confusion right before Sango turned to look at her.

Kagome shrugged her shoulders in an innocent gesture.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked Sango.

"I know not, but think we should go see."

They hurried down the hall and joined the small crowd that had surrounded Kikyo's room.

The two made their way through to the front and gasped as they saw Kikyo in full panic mode, very much worked up over her shockingly bright, eye blinding, green hair!

"Oh my god, it's the swamp thing," Kagome whispered.

"I can't believe something like this happened," Sango said.

'I can because I did it!' Kagome thought. 'How like you that hair now, Kikyo? That stuff doesn't wash out for two weeks!'

"My hair!" Kikyo cried. "My beautiful hair! What if it never goes back to normal? What if I'm stuck with leaf head forever? I shall be ridiculed by everybody and I can't take this!!!!"

Kikyo was hysterical and Kagome was very pleased with herself even though she kept a shocked face on to keep Sango from becoming suspicious.

"My lady, calm down!" somebody spoke. "I heard of something like this before. It was from an allergic reaction to something. Think back to what you've done today. What have you done?"

"I've been with the prince the majority of the day," Kikyo called.

"That's it!" Kagome said. "You're allergic to Prince InuYasha! You should definitely stay away from him forever!"

Sango glared at Kagome.

"Or maybe perhaps it's due to something you've eaten today," Kagome suggested.

Sango seemed pleased with the question and stopped looking at her in that strange way.

"I'm ruined!" Kikyo cried in an overly dramatic way.

"Wait a minute..." somebody said. "Did you just wash your hair, my lady?"

"Be it possible that it was your shampoo that caused this? I suggest switching it," an older looking maid told Kikyo.

Kagome pulled a strand of her hair to her eyes and sighed with relief. "How horrible. I know not what I'd do if it were me in this situation.

Kagome spoke as if she really had no idea what was going on.

Sango, who had still been looking at Kagome suspiciously, lost the scary look and watched Kikyo slam her door in all of their faces and the crowd begin to disperse with much to talk about.

"My lady!" Miru whispered to Kagome. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if she really were allergic to the prince?"

"Of course, but fate shall not allow such luck," Kagome whispered back.

That night, while Kikyo was in her bathroom trying desperately to get rid of the horrible green color of her hair, Kagome sneaked into the room with a new blanket, stripped the bed of the old one, and put the new blanket on without Kikyo knowing a thing.

Kagome laughed silently and tip toed out of the room with the darkness as her cover.

She threw the other blanket in a nearby closet and smiled.

'Sure, what a pretty new blanket,' Kagome thought, 'except for the fact that it'll make you itch terribly!'

Creeping down the hallway, she suddenly felt as if she wasn't't safe, hurrying her step, but suddenly feeling her arm being caught and pulled back.

She gasped and turned around only to find Naraku there.

"Let go," Kagome said as she tugged on her arm.

"What's your hurry little servant girl? Surely you've no place specific to be this late at night."

"I do. I have to go to sleep. I need to get up early to collect the mail," Kagome said as she continued to pull on her arm.

"What are you doing out here so late at night, then?" he asked, his eyes glowing in a completely abnormal way.

"I had to use the bathroom. And then I got a drink of water. Is something wrong with that, sir?"

"No, not at all. I'm just worried that something might...happen. You never know what could be lurking in the shadows at nighttime. You should be careful."

"Caution should matter not. Be I mistaken or is this the castle? What danger lurks behind these walls?" Kagome asked.

"A very good point. A very good point, indeed. You should hurry along now girl. After all, you do have to wake in the early hours. Just remember, be careful."

Kagome yanked her arm away from his grasp and hurried down the hall, not looking back because she could feel his sick eyes on her.

She reached the door to the room she shared with Sango and hurried inside, closing it securely behind her and going to her bed.

Just as she was laying down, Sango spoke.

"What were you doing out there so late at night?"

"The same thing was just asked of me by Naraku," Kagome told her with chills at the remembrance of how he looked at her.

"What?"

"He asked me what I was doing out there so late at night and I told him that I was only using the bathroom and getting a drink of water."

"And?"

"And he was telling me to be careful and about how you never know what's lurking in the shadows. The only thing anybody need be cautious of in this castle is him!"

"I doubt not that he is a creep," Sango said as she shook her head.

"I felt like throwing my glass of water up after seeing him."

"Not in here."

Kagome was silent for a moment as Sango studied her.

"You did it, didn't you."

"Did what?"

"You know what I speak of," Sango said.

Kagome sighed.

"Okay, fine. Of course I did it. But she insulted me and she deserved it. She basically said that my hair was horrible, throwing vile words at me though I spoke only kindness."

"Some people are just rude. You've never paid them much mind before."

"But be it not obvious that those people weren't her?" Kagome said as she sat up.

"Why torture her so?"

"The answer is obvious. Besides throwing little petty insults at me, she attempts to cozy up to my fiance and to smear my real name."

"True, true."

"Um...don't get mad at me in the morning," Kagome told her.

"Why? What did you do now?"

"Lady Kikyo will be in an...itchy situation."

Kagome laid back down and turned away from Sango, leaving her with those foreboding words.

"Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Kagome and Sango were woken up by an unearthly screech louder than a thunder's boom.

Their eyes popped open and they hurried out of their beds and over to where another crowd had accumulated.

Kikyo was on her bed wiggling helplessly back and forth, her hair a mess and still green.

She was scratching with all her might, scratching and rubbing and scratching some more.

Sango looked at Kikyo and then at Kagome, a reluctant grin gracing her face before she put on a more stern look.

They watched InuYasha make his way through the crowd and watch Kikyo scratch herself and scratch herself in places that weren't appropriate to be seen done.

She wiggled back and forth and tried to get rid of the itch.

He saw her on the bed looking like a total and complete mess.

He actually felt embarrassed for her.

Kagome wanted to laugh, but held it inside.

She'd really done it this time.

Now he saw Kikyo as the hideous creature that Kagome knew she was.

Kaede made her way through the crowd and entered the room.

She pulled a bottle out of her sleeve and pulled the cork out.

"My lady, drink this. I shall relieve the itching and rid you of the green."

She held Kikyo still and poured the drink in her open mouth.

Kikyo stopped wiggling and scratching and Kagome watched in disappointment as her hair returned to black.

"Ye have no more business gathered about. Disperse and return to your duties," Kaede told the crowd.

Kagome and Sango left the scene, Kagome looking crestfallen.

Sango laughed at the look on Kagome's face.

"You deserve failure, you know. So what if she insults you? She probably insults the other servants, too. But they just take it and go on with their business, as should you."

"I was raised to not let my honor be abused. And she's abusing it!"

"But is it really honorable to sabotage a person?"

"The only honorable way to take Kikyo out would be to do it as Princess Kagome, not Gome the worker girl. Find you not the point that it would definitely hinder our causes?"

They both snapped their fingers, jumping up and down, an idea coming to mind.

They then eyed each other apprehensively.

"What's excited you so?" Kagome asked.

"An idea of epic proportions. You?"

"I've got a great idea as well."

"Really?"

"Could it be the same idea I'm sitting on?"

"Contest, right?"

"Great minds think alike," Kagome told her.

"It's an honorable and Sango approved way to sabotage her. I disapprove your sabotaging her, but if you're going to do it, you should at least take it up a couple of levels."

"Yep! Vanity is Kikyo's passion! Hit her where it hurts!" Kagome said excitedly.

It was twelve fifty nine. The afternoon sunshine engulfed all. The contest was open to all young women in the kingdom, being witnessed by all.

It was a beauty contest.

The judges were Prince InuYasha, Miroku, and Sayori (the woman who owned the most popular dress shop in the kingdom).

Kagome had entered Sayori's shop that morning with Sango, hoping to ditch the peasant clothing for something more noble.

Kagome examined the dresses as did Sango, enjoying the beauty they'd left behind in their kingdom.

"Can I help you?" Sayori asked.

Kagome turned around to see the woman.

"Lady Kikyo wishes to enter the beauty contest, but she is in dire need of something more suitable."

"Be it possible you would provide her with assistance?" Sango asked.

Sayori was silent for a minute before coming toward them.

"What are your names?" Sayori asked as she came to a stop before them.

"I'm Gome and this is my dear friend Gogo. We work in the castle," Kagome told her as she waited for what was next to come.

"Gome, come forward."

Kagome did as she was told.

"I would like you to spin around slowly."

Kagome was confused, but revolved as told.

"You look like one who is very suited for lovely attire. Beautiful, great hair, and wonderful legs. I have the perfect dress for you."

"Really?" Kagome said as she stopped spinning. "Wait. I'm not entering, I just wanted to get Kikyo's dress."

"Gogo, could you take her over to that dressing room over there while I go get the dress?"

"Of course," Sango said as she grabbed Kagome's arm and dragged her away.

Kagome's plan was to find a dress for Kikyo and then sabotage it. That way she'd be able to publicly humiliate her greatest enemy. For the sake of her and Sango's stealthiness during their mission, she didn't have any intention of entering the contest.

"The dress was beautiful. It was a nice shade of green and came down just below her knees, showed the shape of her body, yet wasn't too tight, fanned out at the bottom, and had thin straps that showed off her shoulders.

The straps possessed beautiful jewels resembling emeralds. They weren't genuine, but they sure did look it.

The jewels were also in vertical lines from the bust to the waist where the dress just began to fan out.

"I love it," Kagome told her as she spun around happily.

"Here," Sayori told her as she placed a pretty green necklace around her neck.

"It's wonderful, it's all wonderful, but I'm afraid I cannot pay for it. I hope not to cause problems, but wish for your letting me borrow it. Returning it will be priority for me once the contest is over and it would be good advertising," Kagome told her as she looked at her hopefully.

"It sounds like a good idea. I worry not about you taking the dress, so do not worry. But don't think I'll show you any favoritism just because you are the best customer I've had today," Sayori told her.

"Favoritism? Why?" Kagome couldn't help but ask as she looked at the dime sized green jewel on the necklace.

"You did not know? I am one of the judges. I shall be in the company of the young prince and master Miroku."

"I knew not, but I expect no special treatment. I am not even merely one of the contestants," Kagome told her.

"Do you think yourself not good enough?" Sayori asked.

"No, it's not that," Kagome told her.

"This is something you should do. Do not feel intimidated by Lady Kikyo."

Kagome laughed.

"Kikyo is the last person on earth who would intimidate me."

"Then prove it," Sayori said as she sat Kagome down to do her hair and makeup, the all purpose service.

"But..." Kagome began.

"But we are merely workers in the castle," Sango grasped at the closest excuse in her mind. "Gome thinks she should not do this."

"Nonsense. It is because you are workers in the castle that you should do this. A woman of so much privilege like Kikyo should not be allowed to fly through this," Sayori told them.

'But I am of even more privilege than Kikyo herself,' Kagome thought. 'It still wouldn't be fair.'

She only wanted to enhance Kagome's natural beauty, so she applied light makeup. Only a bit of light green eyeshadow, a little blush, and some lip gloss that brought out the color of Kagome's lips more.

Kagome's hair was already wavy enough, so Sayori pulled all of her hair to her left side and pulled it into a ponytail and left it hanging over her shoulder. She swept Kagome's bangs smoothly over to that side and put a green barrette at the end to hold them in place.

The end result was wonderful and Sayori seemed very pleased with herself.

"But I really shouldn't enter this contest, right Gogo?" Kagome said helplessly. She was worried about what this would end up like. She didn't need to be known by the public!

Sayori pushed Kagome and Sango out the door.

"Good luck!" Sayori called.

"She knows where she stands, trust me," Sango told her.

Now Sango stood next to Kagome, watching as more girls lined up in the area...

"Like little girls playing dress up, right?" Kagome said as she examined herself in the mirror.

"Feels like it. Is it to your liking?" Sango asked as she took the mirror from her. "I think Sayori did a good job."

"It's great," Kagome told her as she stood up.

The minute hand hit the twelve and it was now one o'clock sharp. The contest was about to begin.

"I shall watch from the front," Sango told her.

"You sure you don't wish to enter the contest?"

"I'm sure. And even if I wanted to, it is too late now," Sango told her. "And I think it's even later for you to get out of this. Good luck."

"Thanks," Kagome told her. "Let's just hope I don't need it."


	11. The Fairest of them All

Can I Keep You: The Fairest of them All

Chapter 11

The Fairest of them All

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Thanks bunches for all of the nice reviews. They all make me happy so I really appreciate it. The Sky Goddess and MidnightMoon73, thanks for your kind words, they mean a lot to me! So I hope that everybody likes the chapter. Here it is.

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Kagome heard screams erupt as the judges arrived and sat down in their seats by the stage that had been built for the contest.

All of the girls were still hoping helplessly for InuYasha's attention.

Kagome rolled her eyes.

The hostess for the contest stepped forward and silence fell.

"Thank you everybody for coming here today. My name is Koharu and I shall be your hostess this afternoon. This contest is being held to find the most beautiful young lady in the kingdom. It's open to single ladies from ages sixteen to twenty six from nobility to servants. May I introduce to you our three judges. The one on the right is Ms. Sayori who owns the best dress shop in the kingdom, Master Miroku, and last but undoubtedly not least, Prince InuYasha!"

The whole place erupted in cheers and applause, most likely mostly for InuYasha.

"They will be deciding who shall win our contest. They will be judging the entries on the loveliness of their faces and their bodies, even the beauty of their hearts. They will be fair with every contestant and treat them the same. They will not show favoritism, so even if you have a history with them, expect no special treatment. Unorthodox and disrespectful behavior shall not be tolerated and attempting to harm performances of others shall not be allowed no matter who you are," Koharu said as she made the rules clear.

'I find it plenty fair,' Kagome thought as she kept her attention on Koharu.

"Now for the prizes. The young woman who wins shall gain the title 'Fairest of them All'. She will be allowed a free meal at the best restaurant in town with one guest of her choice, a night spent at he best inn in the kingdom, and last but certainly not least, a congratulatory kiss from Prince InuYasha," Koharu told them all with pride.

The contestants cheered so loud that Kagome had to cover her ears.

She had to admit, the prizes were good, except for the last one, in her opinion.

"Ladies, good luck to all of you and the contest shall start after these words from our judges."

"In addition to the wonderful prizes that will be given to our winner, I also wish to offer the lucky lady any dress she wants from my shop for free," Sayori told them.

Kagome heard gasps of happiness and cheers.

"All of you ladies are beautiful," Miroku spoke. "I'd hate to choose one, but that's what my companions here to help me do. If you want to be my fairest lady, then you know where to find me."

Kagome rolled her eyes as she saw Miroku wink.

"Please excuse my cousin's public personal ads," InuYasha spoke as the girls in attendance screamed with delight. "Sadly, you can't all win, but I wish you all luck and offer my congratulations to the one who wins. Be fair to each other and may the best lady win."

Cheers erupted again and Koharu stepped forward again.

"Ladies, please make sure that you're all lined up according to your number, from the lowest at the front to the highest at the back," Koharu told them as she watched them line up in the correct order.

Koharu must've been sixteen or seventeen, but she'd scored a good job like this one. She was doing good so far, Kagome thought, so who cared how old she was as long as she was succeeding at her goal.

Though she had to wonder why the girl hadn't entered the contest when she wasn't doing bad as far as looks go.

'Perhaps this is not her cup of tea,' Kagome thought as she watched the girl work.

Though the show had quite the turnout, only about fifteen women dared to stand before them as contestants.

Kagome had guessed that they had no clue as to the prize of a kiss from the prince before, otherwise there would've been a larger number of entries.

Following the announcement of the prizes, she'd seen many girls throw fits of disappointment because they'd failed to enter the contest.

The small turnout also could've been for the fact that some parents didn't want their teenage daughters parading about a stage, or the fact that many married by the age eighteen, if not younger sometimes, and that only the single women could enter.

'It's for the best,' Kagome thought. 'Lower the number of girls, lower the chances for them turning into goo all over InuYasha.'

Kagome noticed with great disgust, that Kikyo just happened to be number seven and was now standing in front of her in some elaborate dress that Kagome guessed Kikyo thought was stylish.

Obviously and unfortunately, Kagome was number eight.

'How unfortunate this happens to be,' Sango thought. 'Kikyo standing in front of her. Agony must be rushing through her.'

"Now we shall begin the contest. Good luck and do your best," Koharu said, pleased with herself.

The contestants cheered happily and the crowd applauded, ready to get on with the contest.

"Contestant number one. Please step forward," Koharu said, breaking through the scramble of voices, making herself heard.

Contestant number one, though her dress was ordinary, was a pretty girl. She looked young, probably one of the sixteen year old entries.

Now Kagome would be able to see just how the contest would go.

Contestant number one walked up the stairs and reached the stage, walking elegantly to the center and shifting to her other side in a small pose, flashing a pretty, but nervous smile before standing before the judges, next to Koharu.

Sayori was tapping her chin in thought while Miroku looked delighted and InuYasha smiled at her to help ease her nervousness.

They quickly looked her up and down and seemed to survey her before writing something down on the paper in front of them before motioning for the next one.

"Contestant number two. Please come to the stage," Koharu said as she called for the next girl to come,

Number two was older, probably at the age limit, but she was a lovely woman. Number two strut her stuff on the stage and went to stand before the judges as they made their assessments about her.

They finished writing and sent her to stand next to number one.

"Ladies, please make a horizontal line facing the audience starting about four feet back from the judges seats," Koharu said as she pointed to where they were to stand.

The first two contestants hurried over there as Koharu called for the third contestant.

Number three was a larger one. She wasn't too big, but she was a little heavy set. Despite this, she seemed comfortable with her size and secure in her own skin. That in itself was something beautiful.

She heard Kikyo gasp as if the girl were something ghastly and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at this display of ignorance.

Miroku didn't look as if he wanted number three to be his goddess, but Sayori seemed strangely interested in her.

Number four came up when Koharu called her. She must've been a demon living in the kingdom. She had long hair so light a blonde that it almost looked white and green eyes.

Kagome had to wonder if Kikyo was feeling a little less confident.

Contestant number four stood in front of the judges and smiled at them confidently.

Miroku was drooling, Sayori seemed neutral, and InuYasha seemed extremely interested in her.

Kagome couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking and Kikyo seemed to be angry at the expression on his face.

Kagome watched his expression change from slightly amused to slightly more serious.

"Wait a minute," InuYasha said as number four began to look a little nervous. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to withdraw yourself from this contest at once.

"Master InuYasha, we are puzzled. Please explain why she must leave," Koharu said as she looked from the girl to InuYasha, at the audience, and then back to InuYasha again.

The audience broke out in a confused buzz and InuYasha rose his hand to silence them.

"This is a contest to find the prettiest girl. Of course humans and demons qualify, but no shape shifting demons. This disqualifies any who might be kitsune, raccoon dog, or any thing else capable of deviating from their true form," InuYasha told them as the girl lowered her head. "I sniffed her out. She smells just like a raccoon dog."

Koharu's expression turned very serious as she turned toward the girl.

"I'm sorry number four, but you are disqualified and must be asked to leave the competition," Koharu told her as she pointed toward the stairs next to the judges.

"But this wasn't in the rules," the girl protested.

"Something like this should go without saying," Sayori spoke as she looked at both InuYasha and Miroku for agreement.

"You're an excellent shape shifter," Miroku said as he eyed the raccoon dog's transformed state. "Might I suggest..."

InuYasha knew where Miroku was heading and decided to cut in before things got more troublesome.

"A contest," InuYasha finished Miroku's sentence, nowhere near the words Miroku was going to say, thankfully. "A contest for all of the shape shifters in the kingdom. In the near future, you can demonstrate your skills against others with your abilities. How does that sound?"

Number four smiled happily and nodded, giving her thanks before leaving the stage with applause in her wake.

"Now if we could get back to the contest," Koharu said as she rose her voice to be heard. "Number five, please come on up."

Numbers five and six seemed to go by fast, Kagome knowing that as soon as number six stepped back, Kikyo would step up.

What would happen from here on, she didn't know, but she knew something would.

"Lady number seven, please come up here," Koharu said as she looked at Kikyo and watched her get on the stage.

The crowd cheered and Kikyo seemed to be enjoying it, but Kagome knew that what she really wanted was to be cheered by InuYasha.

Though Kagome was pretty sure that Kikyo was satisfied by the encouraging look on InuYasha's face, she knew what Kikyo wished for.

Kikyo walked about the stage with grace and flashed her best smiles and posed a little too much and seemed to enjoy the cheers of the crowd more than one should.

Koharu had to call her a couple of times before Kikyo came back from la la land and came to stand before the judges.

The judges made their evaluations and were ready for number eight.

This was it. It was her turn. Being a princess accustomed to attention, she shouldn't be nervous, but she couldn't help but feel as if something about this day would change something in her.

She had no idea as to what would change what, but she just felt as if this would happen.

"Number eight, please make your way to the stage now," Koharu spoke as she looked straight at Kagome.

The princess made her way up the steps and looked to her side, seeing Sango giving her a reassuring smile.

Kagome showed her royal skills as she practically floated onto the stage with grace and elegance, gliding about and smiling like she did back home when she made public appearances, giving a small pose of beauty and making her way next to Koharu, hearing cheers that definitely rivaled the ones that Kikyo had received.

The judges seemed very pleased with what they saw, InuYasha giving her a strange look that made Kagome feel weird in a way she'd never felt before.

Sayori seemed to beam with pride and Miroku seemed to drool with foolish thoughts.

The judges started writing on their paper and finished, asking for number nine next, though it took them a little while to take their eyes off of Kagome.

The next seven girls seemed to come and line up quickly and before Kagome knew it, the judges had narrowed them down from fifteen to only five.

Kagome and Kikyo had made the cut along with three other girls who were looking at InuYasha, probably daydreaming about the kiss that would be theirs if they happened to win.

"I will now ask you ladies questions challenging your character and inner beauty. Upon discussion afterward, three more of you will be cut.

"Contestant number one," Koharu said. "If you could spend one day the royal family, what suggestions about creating a better future for the kingdom would you make?"

All of the girl's nervousness seemed to melt away.

"I'd tell Master InuYasha that I love him!" the girl screamed before fainting.

People gasped and inched closer as the girl was checked out and found to be okay, but unconscious.

She was taken off the stage and some place where she could rest.

"Um...contestant number seven," Koharu spoke. "If you could say one thing to the unfortunate girls in this kingdom, what would it be?"

"I would like for all of them to know that no matter how little money you have, the real wealth is in the love and support of your family and friends," Kikyo spoke as she heard the crowd cheer.

"Well spoken," Koharu told her.

Kikyo seemed pleased with herself.

"Contestant number eight," Koharu addressed Kagome. "If you would say something to the parents of the children of the kingdom, what would it be?"

"I would tell them all to take good care of the children. Keep them safe and make sure they get a good education. Our children are the light of tomorrow's sunrise. They're the foundation of our future and if we don't make sure that they are enabled to realize their full potential, our future will crumble at our feet," Kagome spoke softly and wisely, smiling the whole time.

She gained more applause and cheers than Kikyo had and realized that for that minute, she'd forgotten she was in a contest and felt as if she was striving for the well being of the children of the kingdom.

The judges seemed to love her answer.

The next two contestant's questions seemed to go by fast and before Kagome knew it, three girls were cut from the competition.

Only two remained: Kagome and Kikyo.

This was it. The home stretch. If Kagome could please the judges more than Kikyo did, she would win it.

She was determined to handle whatever they threw at her.

"Contestants seven and eight. You are the finalists," Koharu spoke loudly as she stood next to them. "I will now ask both of you a question. Answer carefully and good luck."

Kagome was ready to get it done with, ready to see who really was the fairest of the two.

"Ladies. Some say it's better to love and to lose that love than never to have loved at all. Do you agree or disagree and why?"

Kagome didn't hear a single word Kikyo spoke. All she heard was the words flowing from somewhere deep inside her and the sound of Koharu calling her.

"Number eight? May I ask your answer?"

Kikyo looked incredibly smug and Kagome didn't like that, but she blocked her out of her mind.

She'd never been in love before, but she knew the love that she felt for her family and her kingdom. She watched the peasants go about their daily work, getting their daily pay and yet only truly living off of the love of those around them.

"Love," Kagome began. "I believe it is such a beautiful feeling and an experience one should cherish. Sometimes, it causes pain, but true love brings joy to your heart and soul. So even if I lost it, I'd rather love while I can and hold on to that feeling as long as possible than to not have felt it at all."

There was an odd silence before loud cheers erupted from the crowd, the majority women who may have felt the same way, even the contestants who had been cut giving their applause.

"The judges will now deliberate and announce their decision," Koharu spoke, standing in between Kagome and Kikyo. "Soon, one of these lovely ladies will be named the Fairest of them All!"

Kagome looked over at Sango who smiled at her and gave her two thumbs up.

She looked over at the judges, watching them deep in discussion.

Then all of a sudden, they all nodded and looked at Kagome and Kikyo.

"We've reached our decision," Sayori told them all as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Though both ladies are gorgeous goddesses, only one winner shall be afforded in the contest," Miroku said. "But I want to say that if the loser of this wishes for a strong shoulder to cry on, I shall be here waiting!"

Sango and Sayori both rolled their eyes at this.

InuYasha finally made his presence known, not like the many girls in attendance weren't already looking at him.

"We've decided that the Fairest of them All is...contestant number eight!" InuYasha announced.

Loud cheers broke out as Kagome got a pretty crown hat showed she was the winner and a bouquet of roses.

"About the free dress, Sayori spoke "I take it you shall want to keep that one?"

"Yes," Kagome told her. "I definitely fancy this one."

"That crown is very unique and will be your proof that you get that free meal and stay at the inn," Koharu told her. "Don't lose it and congratulations."

"Thank you."

Kagome looked over at Kikyo and saw steam practically coming out of her ears.

"Now for the last prize," Koharu announced. "Prince InuYasha, please come give this lady her kiss."

InuYasha made his way toward her.

She began to get that foreign feeling again, as if something was going to change some how.

A kiss...from him? Her fiance? InuYasha?!

She should be backing away, refusing to this, but she knew it would look bad...very bad. All of the women out there would probably swarm her like an angry mob if she didn't stay put.

She couldn't risk suspicion from anybody.

She looked over at Sango who saw her confused expression, shrugged her shoulders, and then mouthed 'You have to do it' to her.

Something in her shifted as he came near her, cupping her chin in his hand and coming closer.

She was...nervous? Was that it? She'd never been kissed before. It would be preposterous for her to kiss anybody other than her fiancé, who was just about to kiss her.

And yet how many girls had he kissed already, she had to wonder. How many? Her thoughts faded away though as he leaned in to kiss her.

Her eyes automatically fluttered closed just before his lips brushed over hers, gentle, warm, and entirely too coaxing.

A strange feeling surged through her, one she didn't quite understand.

The warmth of his lips left her and she quickly opened her eyes, almost afraid that if she didn't view the reality of the situation, then the strange feeling wouldn't stop fluttering around in her stomach.

"Congratulations," InuYasha said after wiping a strange expression off his face, one that she'd never seen before.

"Thanks," Kagome told him after regaining her composure.

She looked over and saw Kikyo look murderous, very dangerous, and very ready to leap at her at any second.

She smiled at her and waved.

Kagome looked over at InuYasha and that strange feeling swept through her again.

What was this feeling she'd gotten? Why did it scare her and thrill her at the same time? And why did she feel so uneasy?


	12. The Fight

Can I Keep You: The Fight

Chapter 12

The Fight

0o0o0o0o0o

As always, thank you for reading and reviewing. I hope that you like this chapter since there is definitely going to be a fight. A fight between who? Kagome and Kikyo? Nope!

o0o0o0o0o0

InuYasha stepped back a couple of feet as Kagome made her way toward Sango.

Sayori stood next to InuYasha and watched her.

"Not bad for a simple girl who happens to work in your castle, huh?" Sayori said as she waved at Kagome who smiled back.

"Huh?"

"When I met her in my dress shop this morning, she told me that she worked in your castle. You've seen her before, right?"

He took another look at her all dressed up and began to remember the girl in the street who held her ground with him in a sword fight, especially remembering her legs.

Her eyes reminded him of a beautiful woman he met at his birthday party. Her face had been hidden behind a small mask, but he could never forget those eyes.

And how could he forget that girl who delivered him his mail the majority of the time? The same one who always tried to one up him?

"Her? The one who I fought with in the street, the one who I danced with at my party, the same woman who brings me my mail?!!!"

"What? You mean she's the same angel who showed you how to really handle a sword?!!!" Miroku said.

InuYasha growled at him.

"And she's the one from your party and that mail girl? How ironic!" Miroku laughed.

InuYasha growled louder.

"You!" InuYasha said as he approached Kagome. "You're her!"

'Oh no!' Kagome thought. 'He's found out that I'm his fiancée!!! What will I do?'

Kagome looked over at Sango who shrugged helplessly.

Kagome sighed.

"You're the one who I fought before!"

"Me?" Kagome said more to herself than to him.

"Yes you. I know you haven't forgotten. I also know you're that one from the party and the girl who brings me my mail!"

Kagome blinked before it registered in her mind.

'He doesn't know I'm his fiancée! He realized that it was me who went against him in that sword fight before...'

She sighed with relief before smiling.

"Yep. That would be me," Kagome said happily.

"Why are you so damn cheerful?" InuYasha barked.

"Gee...let's see...I obviously just won the contest a few minutes ago, or have you forgotten that quickly?"

"What? I'm not stupid like you. Of course I haven't forgotten."

"What was that? I assure you that I am not stupid!"

"Could've fooled me!"

"InuYasha, don't try to pick a fight," Miroku told him.

"Settle down," Sango told Kagome.

"But she humiliated me," InuYasha said unhappily.

"I wouldn't have humiliated you if you hadn't been bragging to the crowd," Kagome protested with a frown.

"The hell I was bragging!" InuYasha gritted out.

"Oh really? If I remember correctly, you asked if there was anybody who wanted to challenge the unbeatable InuYasha and that you promised not to hurt them too badly."

"Well there really wasn't anybody in the audience capable of beating me," InuYasha said angrily.

"Except for me," Kagome told him. "You provoked me."

"You said you wanted to take me on!"

"You called me a wimp and a pushover and started barking some chauvinistic nonsense!" Kagome informed him with a snort. "You were being arrogant, cocky, and much too full of yourself! Somebody had to knock reality into your head!"

"What was that? You want to make something of this?"

"I'd say you've already made something of it, something ridiculous for a reason just as equally ridiculous. You're being ridiculous!"

"I'm not ridiculous," InuYasha said as he took some guy's sword. "I demand a rematch!"

"Ha! I shall enjoy this. I'll take you on anytime, day or night," Kagome told him.

"Don't do this," Sango told her as she grabbed her arm.

"I must. He is being a petulant fool once again and I cannot ignore it. The young prince has started it and now I shall finish it," Kagome told her as she took the sword the man next to Sango offered her.

Kagome said a quick thanks to the man before directing her attention back to InuYasha again.

"Where do you want to do this my prince?" Kagome asked.

"Right here's as good a place as any, useless woman."

"Oh forget about the sword," Kagome said as she threw it down. "I'm going to knock some sense into you!"

She charged at him and knocked him to the ground, pinning him there and grabbing his arms.

The sword he was holding had flown off the stage and onto the ground.

"If I'm so useless," Kagome said between grunts of effort. "Then what am I doing delivering your mail to you?"

"Feh. I could get my own damn mail."

"Of course you could, but you're too lazy to do it. Why not get the workers to get it for you so you can lounge about in your room throwing darts at a board. Ha!"

InuYasha managed to roll over and pin her to the ground.

"That's not all that I do I'll have you know! It's hard work being a prince!"

"Of course. It's so hard to not have to work, idly ride your horse, and do whatever other meaningless things you do!"

"I am no pushover! Princes have responsibilities!"

Kagome was able to turn the tables and pin him down again.

"Hey there," Miroku said as he approached Sango. "How'd you like to roll around with me like that?"

Sango blushed.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Sango said as she watched Kagome and InuYasha go at it.

"Yes. Princes do have responsibilities and you're no exception. Oh, and princely duties do not include showing off to the public like you're so wonderful. You're a prince, not a god!"

"And you're a servant, not a royal! Like you know such a great deal!" InuYasha said as he flipped them again and held her down.

Kagome tilted her head back and laughed at him, laughed loudly, and laughed as if she knew something he didn't...and he hated it.

"If only you knew, little prince. If only you knew. And by the way. I am not a servant with no freedom and no pay. I am an employee. Remember that!"

Remember...that word struck a cord with her and all of a sudden, she remembered his lip sweeping up against hers, the warmth and comfort they brought with the contact.

She could've sworn that she blushed for a second.

'Why is she blushing?' InuYasha thought.

And then he remembered how warm and soft her lips were against his, how amazing and good it felt to him at the time.

Before he knew it, she managed to roll over. Unfortunately, they both rolled over onto the ground behind the stage where nobody could see them, but InuYasha came out on top.

And not being able to control it, the fall made them bump against each other, making their lips meet once again.

It felt entirely too comfortable, entirely too nice, and entirely too natural.

They pulled away from each other, not knowing what to think, but Kagome was able to regain her senses.

'I've got to get him off of me before something strange comes of this,' Kagome thought, thinking that it was a little too strange having him laying on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

She came back to reality before he did and rolled over, getting back on top before standing up and hurrying back up onto the stage.

Sango rushed to her side and dusted off the dress before sweeping her hair back.

"Are you okay?" Sango asked.

Kagome nodded.

"InuYasha. How foolish that was," Miroku said as InuYasha got up. "Starting a fight with a lady is incredibly wrong for a prince and a man to do!"

Kagome and InuYasha stared at each other for a moment before breaking their gazes away.

"You have upset me greatly," Kagome told him. "I won't be staying at the castle tonight. I think that my friend Sango and I shall use my prizes tonight. But we will be back in the morning to collect the mail."

With that said, Kagome grabbed Sango's hand and pulled her away.

"Are you crazy?!" Sango said as Kagome came to a stop in the best room in the best inn that the kingdom had to offer. "Fighting with the prince can cause us to loose our jobs, or worse! What if you get thrown in jail or something?!"

"He cannot fire use because Naraku hired us. And I doubt that Naraku would fire us, being such a desiring perversion of a man. I highly doubt that I would be put in jail since even though I made the first move, he started the whole thing and there are plenty of witnesses to vouch for me. He acted out of the appropriate actions of a prince and even if he were to go to his father with this, there would be big consequences for him..."

"Kagome. You must stop this. You cannot go around jeopardizing our mission! What if he decides to do some kind of a background check or something on you and find out that you're his fiancée?!"

"He's not smart enough for that," Kagome told her in a decided manner. "I'm sorry Sango. It's just that when it comes to him, I can't help but get all worked up. And the fact that he called me stupid didn't help to calm me down!"

"You are a princess. You have been raised better than this. You know that even when you are not using your true name, you should act with the aplomb manner of a princess," Sango told her as she put her hands on her shoulders.

"Basically, I should let him insult me?"

"Yes...and no. No because you are a princess, his fiancée, and you do not deserve such a degrading treatment, yes since though you are a princess, you are undercover as a peasant. Peasants do not argue with royalty or tackle them to the ground!"

"But he was working so hard to make something of it and I got caught up in his game!" Kagome protested.

"Uh! You are frustrating me now! Stop making excuses and start making progress! Remember what we are here to do! All we are doing right now is cleaning the castle and delivering mail! We should be doing other things that will help us with what we're here to do! Forgive me, but as your cousin, I have to do this!"

"What?"

Kagome watched as Sango raised her hands and for a moment, she thought that she was going to slap her, but instead, Sango clasped her hands on Kagome's arms and began to shake her.

"I'll shake some sense into you if I can't talk it into you!" Sango told her as she shook her back and forth.

"Okay, I get it Sango. You don't need to shake me. I should start acting like I'm undercover and do my undercover work, right?"

"Exactly," Sango said as she let go of Kagome.

"You were really so frustrated? You must've been holding that in for a while," Kagome said as she rubbed her arms, realizing that Sango had a strong grip.

"Well if you wouldn't have been going around messing with Kikyo and fighting your fiancée, I wouldn't be this frustrated..." Sango told her as she let out a sigh.

"Don't you think I'm frustrated? Other than those girls running around the village saying they did this with him or did that with him, I don't have anything telling me the rumors are true."

"You're right. There is no good proof..."

"We have to play this game another way..." Kagome told her. "We have access to his room. Why not sneak into his room and look for evidence?"

"That's a worthwhile idea," Sango agreed as she sat down on the bed closest to the door.

"Why not wait until he leaves the room, then have one of us clean around the room and keep watch and the other search the room. If InuYasha comes back, the one inside the room will be alerted and claim that they were just in the process of cleaning."

"That sounds good," Sango said as she laid back on the bed.

Kagome went and sat down on the other bed, the one by the window.

She just noticed for the first time that they were sitting in the lap of luxury for the first time in what felt like a long time.

"Hey Sango," Kagome said as she hugged one of the fluffy pillows.

"Yeah?"

"I've been a princess my whole life, but I only now realized how good it is to be one."

"Oh?"

"Sure. I mean we've been sleeping on those uncomfortable beds in small rooms for so long, I'm starting to really appreciate a big comfortable bed in a large room."

"I guess I am, too," Sango told her.

"Sango?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to take a bath. Could you go to Sayori's and get my peasant dress I left there?"

"I guess I will," Sango told her.

"Thanks," Kagome said as she got up and headed toward the bathroom.

Kagome closed the bathroom door behind her and Sango sat her crown on her bed.

She'd picked it up for Kagome after she'd tackled InuYasha, thinking it would be bad if she lost it.

Getting up off the bed and going to the window, she watched the people below going on about their lives for a minute before leaving through the door and closing it behind her.

Kagome stopped the water from running and lowered herself into the tub.

That fight with InuYasha. It was the second one they'd had. She remembered the first one. It was the first time she'd seen him again in many years.

"Now, is there anybody else who'd like to challenge me? I'll be here for a little while longer. Hell, if nobody beats me, I might be here all day, unless I get tired from boredom and go home," InuYasha said. "So, who wants to challenge the unbeatable InuYasha? I promise I won't humiliate you too badly," he said in a cocky voice.

"Such petulant arrogance," Kagome said in a low voice to Sango. "Do you see that cocky look on his face? He really thinks that he's better than everybody else. I'd love to knock him off of his high horse, but I doubt that he's worth wasting time on."

"You there," InuYasha said in a voice that stated that he obviously believed himself to be superior. "Yes, you, the one in the black cape to the right…I heard what you said. Why don't you come over here and…knock me off my high horse like you said you wanted to. Either you step up here and show me you have the balls to face me or back off like a coward."

"Why you," Kagome growled in a low voice that couldn't identify femininity or masculinity.

"Don't take the bait," Sango said. "We're supposed to be staying low profile, remember?"

Kagome snorted and turned around.

"Oh, I see that you're a wimp, a pushover like plenty of others. I was wrong to think that you'd be worth the time," InuYasha said in a supercilious tone of voice. "You know, you remind me of the woman I'm engaged to. I haven't seen her in years, but she had that…stupid factor about her, a waste of time, you know? It's hard to find a good woman these days for men such as ourselves. But wimps such as you couldn't get a woman, not even a man in trying. You're nothing."

Kagome turned around and grabbed a man's sword in passing.

Stepping up to InuYasha, she looked him up and down.

He was indeed handsome, but that arrogant, superior air about him, she didn't like it at all.

"Oh, I see he's found the audacity to take me on," InuYasha laughed. "What, no last words before defeat?"

Kagome remained silent.

"Answer me dammit!" InuYasha said.

Kagome remained silent.

"Fine," he said as he drew his sword. "I'll take you down."

Kagome backed up a step and got into a defensive stance.

InuYasha swung at her and Kagome jumped back before charging him and swinging at him, catching nothing but his sword against hers.

They stood locked sword for sword for a moment before both jumped back and then charged, swinging their swords at each other.

InuYasha turned his sword to the side and tried to whack her in her side but Kagome jumped back onto a stack of hay before jumping down with her sword raised above her head, bringing it down.

"Oh no, be careful InuYasha!" one of the girls cried.

InuYasha raised his sword to block it, trying to push the caped competitor but finding that the person's feet were firmly planted and fighting for firm ground with formidable resolve.

He brought his leg up and tried to kick her but she leaned all the way back before bringing her sword up to defend herself as InuYasha tried to bring his sword down on her.

"Yes, go Master InuYasha! You can do it, you're so dreamy!" another girl called.

He seemed to think he had the advantage with his competitor being leaned so far back.

Kagome pushed InuYasha back just barely, but it was enough for her to quickly move in between his legs and behind him.

She swung at him, but he jumped back up onto a wagon, doing a back flip and landing on his feet as if he were a cat.

"You're absolutely amazing Master InuYasha!" Another village girl said happily.

He continued to jump back as Kagome charged him.

He stopped jumping back and took her attack, blocking her sword with his.

He then pushed her down to the ground and was bringing his sword down when she somersaulted out of the way and landed on her back before jumping easily to her feet with her sword ready for attack.

He charged her and swung at her blade with such a force that it flew out of her hand and straight up into the air.

"You're so close InuYasha!" a girl called to him.

Kagome looked at him for a second before jumping up onto a water barrel and jumping up again, catching her sword in her hand and landing on her feet.

He charged her, pushing her back and getting the better of her, knocking her to the ground with his blade pointed at her.

"Yay! Master InuYasha did it!" the girls cheered.

He was breathing heavily.

"I must say, you've given me quite the workout," InuYasha said. "But I knew you wouldn't have the balls to beat me. What happened? I thought you were going to knock me off of my high horse," InuYasha said in an egotistical voice.

He started to laugh and threw his head back before laughing harder.

"You know, you're wrong," Kagome said. "You were wrong about two things, was it, Master InuYasha?"

Kagome raised her leg and kicked him in between his legs hard, making him drop his sword and cross his legs before falling to the ground in pain.

Kagome jumped up and brought her sword right to his throat, less than an inch from his skin.

"The first thing you were wrong about," Kagome said defiantly. "Is that I couldn't have the 'balls' to beat you, because," she then took off her cape with one hand and threw it aside, "I…am a woman. And as we all know, women don't have balls, and by your shameful position right now, I highly doubt that you do either."

Kagome shook the memory away before another one drifted to her.

She thought about InuYasha kissing her, that strange feeling in her stomach, and when they fell off the stage and ended up kissing again.

The last thing she thought about was about how she was going to be gone away from the castle for the night...and about how Kikyo would definitely be there trying to get alone with InuYasha.

"Oh no," Kagome said to herself. "Of all the rotten luck..."

She sighed loudly and went back to her bath.


	13. Gossip

Can I Keep You: Gossip 

Chapter 13

Gossip

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I'm FINALLY able to update again. Thanks to some computer complications, I couldn't do it before. But I can now. Thanks for your reviews! And I hope that the long wait didn't make you want to stop reading my story. So please keep reading and reviewing and I'll do my best to update!

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"Do you like it?" Sango asked as she spun around in the lovely pink dress. "Sayori told me that she decided to extend the free dress offer to somebody you knew, me."

"It's great," Kagome told her before taking her peasant dress from Sango and throwing it on her bed. "Now we can go out to eat and have both of us looking more noble."

"I thought you were going to stay in the bathroom forever. I find myself startled that you are not a prune by now," Sango told her as she headed for the bathroom door.

"Some flowers don't wither," Kagome told her as she sat on the edge of her bed and brushed her damp hair.

"How I shall enjoy a nice hot bath in a large tub. I've been deprived of this luxury for much too long," Sango said forlornly since her mind was probably far away at the moment thinking about how things were back home.

Sango closed the bathroom door behind her.

Kagome threw the robe aside and put on the peasant dress before opening the window.

The wind felt good combing its way through her still damp hair.

Long ago, they would always make her wear her hair up, always make her keep it a prisoner held behind whatever held it in place.

But she broke free from that.

It had been her dream to let her hair down, give it a wild shake, and let the wind blow through it. 

Kagome looked down at the street below and saw people hurrying around, going on with their lives after the excitement of the contest.

She had to wonder just what the gossiping girls of the kingdom were saying these days and who they were saying it about.

"Sango," Kagome said as she knocked on the bathroom door. "I'm going out for a little while."

Not waiting for Sango's answer, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Reaching the bottom floor and heading to the door, the people scurrying around didn't even notice her.

'I guess they wouldn't even recognize Kikyo if she washed all her makeup off and walked around in peasant clothing, not that she ever would,' Kagome thought as she joined the crowds.

She saw a group of girls up ahead, huddled together talking about something.

"That contest was something else," a girl spoke. "I thought for sure that Kikyo was going to win."

"I thought that the Prince had always fancied Kikyo above all other women. I mean, haven't you heard what I've heard?"

The girls nodded and rolled their eyes.

"You mean about how though Prince InuYasha is engaged to be married, he's involved with Kikyo? I managed to get into his birthday party for a few minutes, and I saw them all over each other on the dance floor," some girl said as she leaned against the outside of the shop they were in front of. 

"Something has to be going on there," the girl who'd spoke first said. "If I were his fiancee, he wouldn't be cheating on me like that."

Kagome almost growled.

"Who was that girl who beat Kikyo, anyway?" the girl leaning against the wall asked as she crossed her arms.

"Nobody knows. Everyone I've spoken to says they haven't seen her around here before," a girl said from her seat on a barrel.

"How mysterious. So some new girl just sweeps into town, enters the contest, beats Kikyo, and gets kissed by my man!"

"He's my man!"

"No, he's mine!"

"Calm down," the girl standing in the doorway of the shop said. Sure, she kissed him, but she fought with him soon after."

"Yeah. What was going on with that?" the girl leaning against the wall asked.

"It seems that they've met before. He did say that they had fought before. Wasn't she the one who fought with him with the sword before?"

"She might be," the girl sitting on the barrel said. "But I still didn't like that kiss. It looked like possible chemistry!"

'Chemistry? Between me and him?' Kagome thought, confused.

"Did you see the way she tackled him to the ground? She was all on him. What was up with that?"

"Forget that," the girl in the doorway spoke. "Didn't you see the way Kikyo got steamed over that kiss?"

"Yeah," they all agreed. 

"Hey," Kagome said as she joined them, not knowing how they'd react to her. "Could you tell me what you know about Kikyo?"

"Who are you?" one of the girls asked. 

"I'm Gome. I came here not too long ago, but you might've seen me around town. Did you girls see the contest?" 

"Sure did," the one leaning against the wall said. 

"Kikyo sure did seem like she wasn't pleased with not winning that kiss. I want to know about her and the prince." 

"Every girl in the village loves Prince InuYasha," the girl standing beside the girl on the barrel said. "But we all know that the Prince has known Lady Kikyo for two years now." 

"How'd they meet?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, I think it was at his sixteenth birthday party. His father had invited her father to the party and he brought her along and it went from there."

'Actually, they did meet before that...' Kagome thought. 'And I definitely met her before he did, though that wasn't too pleasant...'

"What do you mean by 'went from there'?"

"I mean, everytime Kikyo's in town, she rushes to the castle to see him and we've seen them in public together."

"They say that Kikyo is here to promote nothing but peace to the kingdom," the girl standing in the doorway said. "But we know that she's really here to promote herself to the prince."

Kagome shook her head.

"But I heard you say that he's betrothed. What about his fiancee?" Kagome asked, curious.

"There are girls here who are just plain jealous that she's engaged for him, but we feel sorry for her since he's playing around with Kikyo here and she's way in the eastern lands without any clue."

"I heard that she was a gold digger and other things," the girl standing near the barrel said. "But those are probably rumors started to make the really jealous girls feel better."

"So you don't believe that the princess is bad?"

"Nowhere near as bad as Kikyo," the girl on the barrel told her. "We all want him, but when it comes down to it, we'd rather see the princess with him instead of Kikyo."

"But I heard that the princess and the prince have never gotten along well," Kagome said. "I don't think there's that good of a chance that they'll get married."

"But that was a long time ago, right?" the girl standing in the doorway said.

"Yeah, but some things never change," Kagome said. "I mean, what if she has heard all these rumors circulating around the kingdom?" 

"You can't always believe rumors," the girl leaning against the wall said.

"Gome!" Kagome heard Sango calling.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," Kagome told them. "I'm sorry. I never asked you your names.

"I'm Kanu," the girl standing in the doorway said. "The girl against the wall is Maruka, the one on the barrel is Sumitsu, and the one standing next to her is Nariko."

"Nice to meet you," Kagome said. "My friend is calling me, I've got to go."

"Bye Gome, take care."

Kagome waved at them and ran in the direction of the hotel.

"For some reason, I feel as if I've seen her before," Sumitsu spoke. 

"Isn't she the one we saw teaching that girl to read that one day?" Nariko asked.

"Yeah," Maruka said, but I feel as if I've seen her somewhere else before..." 

"Gogo!" Kagome said as she reached her friend. "Lets go."

They hurried up to the room and Kagome told her what she'd just been told.

"They've known each other for that long. Who knows what's gone on since then..." Sango said.

"Oh, and guess what. They say they like me." 

"I'm sure they did. It sounds like you blended in with them well enough."

"No, I mean the real me, the princess," Kagome explained.

She told Sango the part about her and Sango sighed.

"At least you have some supporters," Sango told her.

"Except for the only supporter who really matters is me and I don't support myself with him."

"Who knows. Maybe you will someday. It looked as if you were really supporting it during that kiss."

"Don't even bring that up," Kagome said. "It wasn't like that. You saw how I was against it."

"That was before he kissed you."

"And it came back as soon as he annoyed me to the point that I tackled him."

"Sure, but what went on behind the stage?" Sango asked curiously.

"I ended the fight like a mature person would."

"You sure that's all?"

"I'm sure," Kagome told her with a blush.

"I think that those girls may have worked to your advantage," Sango told her.

"I'm thirsty," Kagome said. "How about some strawberry water?"

"I like the sound of that. All we've had is that water from the kitchen of the castle ever since we arrived..."

"Yes. We're in a great hotel in the best room. We might as well milk it while we can."

"I fear that his relationship with Kikyo might be worse than I originally thought," Kagome said as she sipped her water a little while later.

"I do believe that you have cause to wonder some things now," Sango told her as she sat her water down and took a bite out of the lunch they'd asked for.

"Things might be a little more complicated now that he knows that I beat him up in the street and was with him at his party and that I work at the castle."

"As long as he doesn't catch wind that you are his fiancee, you have no true need to worry," Sango told her.

"I know," Kagome told her. "But somehow I find myself worrying about what Kikyo's going to do. If he knows, she's going to find out and then she'll know that a girl who works in the castle beat her in the contest and who knows what she might do to get revenge..." 

"You can't tell me who're seriously afraid of Kikyo," Sango said.

"Of course not," Kagome told her quickly. "I fear nothing about Kikyo. I only find myself awaiting her next move."

"For now, why don't you just wait for that ice cream you asked for to get here?"

The ice cream got there and just then, they heard a little commotion outside.

Kagome went to the window, her ice cream in hand and Sango close behind her.

InuYasha was out in the street with Kikyo and Miroku.

"It was only a contest," Kagome heard Kikyo say. "All of the others weren't as good as me and the girl who beat me was lucky to win. I mean seriously. Green might as well be the new bark brown. That dress she wore...And the other girls. They did good, but not good enough..."

Seeing how Kikyo was directly below, Kagome seriously considered dropping her ice cream and letting it fall directly onto Kikyo's head.

The thing was, somebody beat her to it. As soon as she was about to dump her treat on Kikyo, somebody threw a tomato at her.

Kagome could have sworn she saw Kanu duck around a corner immediately after, making a quick getaway before anybody located the source of the tomato that made a big red splash all over Kikyo's face.

"Oh yeah," Kagome said. "I thought I'd seen Kanu somewhere before. She was in the contest, too, and Kikyo had inslulted her before it started."

"Please do not tell me you were about to cause trouble and pour ice cream on her," Sango said. "You know you should not be doing such things."

"It matters not since I didn't do it. Kanu beat me to the punch." 

Though she was highly interested in seeing Kikyo covered with tomato in the street, Kagome left the window and returned to her lunch.

"Look at that," Sango said as she had a bit of her ice cream and pulled a chair up next to the window. "Somebody else threw something at Kikyo."

"What?" Kagome said as she went back to the window with her ice cream.

"It looks like a few of the contestants from the contest decided to hit Kikyo with a barrage of stuff."

"Ooh. That paint will take a while to wash out," Kagome said as she stuck the spoon in her mouth and enjoyed the vanilla ice cream.

After she'd asked for the lunch, Kagome had changed back into the green dress and got ready to go so that when they decided to go out to eat, she wouldn't have to get ready.

Even though it was quite a bit past lunch time when they asked for food, they still called it lunch.

Right now it was a little after five.

Kagome decided to stick her head out of the window to get a better view, but remembered too late that she'd put all the makeup and clothes back on.

"Hey! There's the contest winner up there!" somebody down below said.

'Oh no,' she thought. 'I forgot that I was wearing all this stuff.'

"Number eight! I love you!" some guy yelled from below.

"How do you keep your skin so clear?" some woman yelled.

"Number eight. What's your name?" some guy in the crowed called.

"I'm sorry. I can't reveal that information," Kagome told him.

She had much experience dealing with people who asked questions that she didn't think were good to answer.

"Her name's Gome," Kikyo called, a smug smile on her face after seeing the look on Kagome's.

"Gome, you're beautiful!" a man yelled at her.

The people began to chant her fake name.

Sango, who was still dressed up in the dress that she'd gotten from Sayori, stuck her head out of the window wanting to know what in the world was going on.

"Gome, Gome, Gome!" Sango heard the crowd chant.

"It's her..." Miroku said as he saw Sango's head come out of the window. "She looks...wow." 

"Gome," Sango said, careful to use the name. "This may not be too good. We need to talk."

Kagome and Sango ducked inside and stood a safe distance from the window.

"I'm well aware of the situation," Kagome said to Sango as she began to pace from the end of her bed to Sango's with her hands on her hips. "I've gathered unwanted attention from that contest. It very well could hinder our mission."

"You've got that right," Sango said. "What if they start following you around, what if they find out what you look like dressed like a peasant, what if they start coming to the castle asking about you, what if..."

Kagome interrupted her.

"I know, I know, I know. It would definitely be hazardous. Though it is not the worst case scenario, it's still not good."

"Didn't I tell you that the contest was a bad idea? So bad," Sango said as she collapsed on her bed.

"Actually, you thought it was a pretty splendid idea," Kagome said as she sighed. "Anyway, there's nothing we can do to take back today's actions now." 

"True, true..."

"It's strangely quiet out there," Kagome said to Sango as she made her way over to the window. "What's going on?"

She stuck her head out of the window and the people began to cheer again.

She sighed, but waved at them, the cheers getting louder.

Sango looked out of the window.

"Unbelievable..." Sango said. "What will we do now?"

InuYasha had accompanied Kikyo back to the castle, but Miroku stayed behind, hoping to catch another glace at the girl who took his breath away. 

"There she is again," Miroku whispered as he looked up at her with a look of curiosity on his face. "I must find out more about her..."

Sango looked at the people in the crowd, catching a familiar face.

She saw Miroku looking straight at her with a strange look on his face, one that strangely made her stomach do little flip flops.

She could feel a blush coming across her face and hurried back inside the room.

Kagome waved bye to the people below and closed the window.

"Sango, I cannot become a celebrity in this kingdom, too. It's going to ruin everything," Kagome cried as she burried her face in her pillow. 

"We mustn't panic," Sango said as she sat down next to Kagome and grabbed the pillow away from her. "As long as nobody you know as the princess finds this out, you'll be okay." 

"But if these people start spreading word about me, somebody might get curious and come to see."

"Maybe, maybe not. You can't know until that day comes."

"Fine," Kagome sighed as she sat up. "The past is past and whatever will be will be. I'm not going to ponder what will happen from now on." 

Sango went and got a book that was in a drawer.

Kagome watched as Sango took the book, put it on her head, and strolled elegantly about the room.

Kagome laughed.

"Do you remember how long it took you to be able to do that?" Kagome asked as she grabbed the book from her and did the same thing.

"Of course I do," Sango said.

Kagome took the pillow back and hugged it, letting the book fall to the floor.

"Some memories should stay in the past," Kagome said as she fell back on her bed and buried her face in the pillow once more, burying the thoughts of her stressful day with it. 


	14. The Evidence Against Him

Can I Keep You: The Evidence Against Him

Chapter 14

The Evidence Against Him

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There's still plenty of chapters left for this story even though my other story is about to end. So I hope you keep reading. Thanks for the reviews everyone, they made me happy! Thanks for your review purplefirestarter, it made me happy that you were waiting for me to update again like that. So here's the chapter!

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Kagome began to think about what she'd heard since she'd arrived in this kingdom, what she'd heard about InuYasha.

THE GOSSIP

"Are you going to Master InuYasha's birthday party tonight?" a village girl asked another.

"Why of course," another girl said with a giggle. "I wouldn't miss seeing him for the world. He's so dreamy!"

Another girl sighed. "Oh, he's so charming!"

"You know, I heard that his eighteenth birthday was actually last week, but he's only now having the party," the first girl said.

"I don't care when his birthday was…I'm going to that party at all costs," a girl said.

"You'll be lucky if he even looks in your direction," one girl said. "Oh, but how I wish I would be that lucky myself!"

"Ah, but sometimes some girls do get lucky and he'll lead them up the stairs and…."

"No impure thoughts!" a girl yelled.

"Sorry."

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THE WITNESSING AT THE PARTY

"Master InuYasha, why don't you dance with me?" Kikyo asked as she joined the crowd.

Kikyo extended her hand and he took it, letting her help him out of the crowd.

They danced slowly, closely, making the other women jealous.

"It's been a while Master InuYasha," Kikyo said.

"Sure has, Lady Kikyo," InuYasha said.

Kagome and Sango stuck nearby.

Kagome watched the way they danced, they way they whispered things in each other's ears.

"You see that Sango?" Kagome asked. "They're getting fresh with each other. Oh, now he's leading her up the stairs."

"Kikyo's so lucky. Master InuYasha has always fancied her over everybody else," a village girl said.

"Now's the time," Sango said.

"Yes," Kagome agreed.

InuYasha and Kikyo had reached the top of the staircase when Kagome and Sango made their true entrance, dresses changed into something much more beautiful as they stood in the doorway.

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THE LOVE LETTERS

"And here's an invitation for Lady Rin, something for Lord Sesshomaru, something for the priestess Kaede, some surely sinister letter for Naraku, and love letters for InuYasha," Sango said.

"Love letters?!" Kagome said as she picked one of the envelopes up.

She was about to tear it open when Sango's hand stilled hers.

"If you're going to open it, be nondescript. Make no damage so that we can re-seal it," she said as Kagome nodded.

Carefully opening it, she pulled the letter out and unfolded it.

"This smells of hussy," Kagome growled under her breath. "Look, she dotted her i's and periods with little hearts, how...how...gah. I'm just going to read it."

'Dear Master InuYasha,

I love you so much! You're hair is just so long and silky and it glows like the moon. You're eyes look like a chunk of the brilliant sun! Oh, you're perfectly chiseled body! I love you! Those cute little doggy ears, I'd just love to touch them along with every other inch of you! I'll do whatever you want me to, ANYTHING! I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you...'

"Why don't you stop there before you go on forever. The 'I love you's' are like the song that doesn't end," Sango said.

"I am thoroughly disgusted," Kagome said. "I don't even want to know what he's been doing to warrant such letters."

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THE FANS

"They're coming!" the girls squealed along with practically every other girl in the town.

The screams became deafening and they were sure that their eardrums were going to bust.

It became even louder as InuYasha and Miroku got out.

Sesshomaru didn't come, but stayed at the castle.

And that was good because Kagome and Sango didn't doubt for a minute that the screams would have been even louder if he'd come along, too.

"Look at him," Kagome said to Sango as she watched InuYasha instantly be surrounded by a swarm of females. "He's eating it all up."

"Well, why not? I mean, he is a prince. What's wrong with publicity? What's wrong with having fans?" Sango said.

"Well, sure, when you're that important to a kingdom, publicity can be a good thing. As far as fans go, look at the fans he's surrounded by. All women. For once, I would just like for a man to walk up to him and briskly shake his hand, not a woman run up to him screaming her head off and trying to put her hands all over him."

"Point taken. Okay, so I get what you're saying..."

"I'm glad you do."

"Oh hey, look. There's a man walking up to him right now!"

Kagome looked over at InuYasha and saw the person approaching as her eyes got big.

"Sango, it may look like a man, but that's not a man..."

Sango looked.

"Oh...uh...sorry, it was an easy mistake to make."

"Yes, it was..." Kagome said.

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KIKYO

A fancy golden carriage approached the castle and came to a halt, the door right in front of InuYasha.

It opened and out came an arm, an outstretched hand.

InuYasha took it in help and the next thing Kagome saw was a woman's slender leg before the rest of the woman let InuYasha help her out.

He bowed before her and kissed her hand, Kagome growling slightly as she narrowed her eyes at this woman.

"Wait a minute...If my memory does not fail me, I think I've seen her before," Kagome said.

"Yeah...at that party..." Sango said.

"InuYasha had been dancing with her..."

"I could say that I haven't always had long, beautiful hair, but I'd be lying," Kikyo said as she ran the brush through her hair.

"Of course not," Kagome told her. "I can't imagine somebody like you not looking so beautiful always as they should."

"Words are your ally, servant girl. Yes, I can't imagine a day when my hair doesn't look wonderful."

"Of course," Kagome said. "I simply can't imagine it either."

Kagome went away and came back again with a bit of water and a cloth to clean the mirror.

"And I can't imagine a day without that shampoo. It works wonders for me," Kikyo said. "As you can see, you're not lacking need for it, yourself."

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THE HISTORY BETWEEN INUYASHA AND KIKYO

"Every girl in the village loves Prince InuYasha," the girl standing beside the girl on the barrel said. "But we all know that the Prince has known Lady Kikyo for two years now."

"Oh, I think it was at his sixteenth birthday party. His father had invited her father to the party and he brought her along and it went from there."

"I mean, every time Kikyo's in town, she rushes to the castle to see him and we've seen them in public together."

"They say that Kikyo is here to promote nothing but peace to the kingdom," the girl standing in the doorway said. "But we know that she's really here to promote herself to the prince."

All of these different things played against InuYasha and made Kagome reinforce her beliefs in everything she's fighting for on this mission.

She was fighting for her freedom.

Ever since she'd first met InuYasha as a baby, they didn't get along.

That was a bad sign, right?

Ever since she was a little girl, Kagome had always hard fairytales of beautiful princesses who married the prince who was their one true love.

That's what she wanted, being a princess herself. She wanted to find her one true love.

She wanted a love that would burn forever and never die, one that she wouldn't lose faith in and wouldn't have to worry about not lasting.

Kagome had hated InuYasha for as long as she could remember. She hated the very idea that her parents didn't give her the opportunity to search for the love she sought.

She hated the fact that they didn't even wait for her to turn a year old before promising her life, love, and dedication to a prince she didn't know or want to know.

She'd never had the opportunity to fall in love. How could she when she was a prisoner to the promises and wishes of her parents? How could she when she was a prisoner of her own obedience?

It would be horrible to outright defy her parents. No, she needed to free herself a different way. By the time she'd turned fifteen, she'd started hearing rumors reaching the eastern kingdom about the shockingly attractive and strangely illustrious Prince InuYasha.

The Princess had heard that he was adored by the citizens and was beginning to be very handsome.

She even heard that he held a party and had donations made to charity so that he could help the less fortunate people in the kingdom.

Kagome had thought then that maybe she was wrong to hate him all those years, that maybe he was becoming a man that she could possibly be happy marrying.

Maybe she fooled herself into thinking that things would go better for her, that her parents might have been right.

That all changed when she was halfway through her sixteenth year. That's when she began to hear rumors, subtle little hearsay that indicated otherwise.

The halo that she'd began to imagine above his head quickly vanished and she found herself wondering if maybe she'd been right about him.

She began to wonder if her parents really had decided to affiance her to a nightmare.

The rumors were about InuYasha's steadily growing attractiveness to and charm of girls.

She'd heard that some girls were claiming that they heard that the young master was seeing girls at the kingdom, indulging himself however he seemed fit.

And then she thought that maybe it was just the childish fantasies of adolescent girls who wanted some attention.

Kagome tried her best to dismiss these whispered claims.

She really did try, but it was just a little while after that she began to hear things about Kikyo maybe being around InuYasha.

That was when her dislike of Kikyo began to deepen even more. The gossiping girls she'd talked to in the street before only confirmed what she'd already heard.

These thoughts sickened Kagome. Why would anybody start such a rumor if there wasn't some truth behind it?

Kikyo was poison in Kagome's opinion, though she definitely thought that InuYasha was horrible himself.

By the time she'd turned seventeen, Kagome had heard about InuYasha's many accomplishments in the kingdom, about how he'd won every contest he went in.

She heard that they called him the sword master in his kingdom and the archery champion and even the lord of fight.

And what was worse was the fact that Kagome had heard that he'd given himself those names!

She'd thought that he was incredibly cocky. Sure, she believed that guys had to feed their egos, but she thought that his ego was getting obese now.

From age seventeen to the time she turned eighteen, she'd heard that InuYasha was a real ladies man and that so many girls were claiming that they'd gotten intimate with him and other stuff among that.

After years of hearing so many things about him, she couldn't help but come to be pressed enough to look into it.

What gave her the push to go see for herself was the night of her eighteenth birthday.

Her parents had sat down with her and told her what they expected of her.

"Kagome," her mother had said as Kagome sat down and tried to make herself comfortable, though she doubt she could. "You are of age now and with this comes new responsibility.

"Dear, you have been betrothed to Prince InuYasha almost your whole life," her father told her as he folded his hands together. "You have come a long way from since you were twelve years old, a very long way. You are eighteen now and you will be expected to get married to him in..."

"Six months," Kagome said to herself as she remembered her father's words. Six months was all that she had to prove that she shouldn't marry him.

"Six months?!" Kagome remembered herself saying, slapping herself upside the head. "Are you serious?!"

"We are," her father, the king, said. "We've been serious about this for eighteen years."

"It's a perfect match," her mother told her.

"Yes. It will forever promote peace between our two kingdoms and establish much to benefit from. Both our kingdoms shall grow and prosper from this."

"And what about you two?" Kagome asked.

"What about us?" her father asked.

"It wasn't like this for you, an arranged marriage. You two came to marriage the right way, through falling in love!" Kagome informed them as she let out a frustrated sigh.

Her parents exchanged looks at one another before looking at her.

"Things were different. We were under different circumstances," her father said. "You will learn to love your husband in time, Kagome."

"But that's just it," Kagome said as she stood up. "I don't want to 'learn' to love anybody. Love isn't something you teach yourself to do. It comes naturally through a bond and a connection. You two should know this better than anybody!"

"You will do it," her father said. "It's the only choice you're afforded. This has been in the works for almost two decades. I won't crumble at our feet now."

"No father. The only one who shall crumble at your feet is me. This will destroy me," Kagome said.

"Kagome, think this over," her mother spoke.

"I have," Kagome told them. "I've thought it over long and hard. I've thought it over for years now."

"Prince InuYasha is a very worthy choice," her father said as he stood up as well. "From what I've heard, he's done many wonderful things for his kingdom and the citizens love him. He seems very level headed and likeable young man."

Kagome laughed, but the laugh lacked any amount of humor.

"Is that all you've heard, father? Because I've heard different," Kagome said as she shook her head.

"Kagome, why can't you see what I see?"

"Oh I see what you see, father. It's just that I see it from a different perspective," Kagome told him.

"Well what I see is the man you are going to marry without a doubt," her father told her as if that was all there was to it.

"Mother," Kagome said as she directed her attention to her. "Do you not see the madness in this? How would you have felt if you never had a chance to experience the things you did? How would you feel if you'd never had the opportunity to fall in love with father?"

"Don't get her involved in this," her father said.

"Of course. Don't get her involved in it. And why is that father? Is it because she realizes that a life lacking true love isn't a life at all? Or is it because deep down, you know that you're wrong and you don't want her to start making you admit it? Either way, someday you'll see how unhappy I become and you will become unhappy as well."

With that said, Kagome left the room.

Kagome shook her head of the memory and sighed.

You'd think that since she was now a grown woman, she'd be fully free to make her own decisions and do whatever she wished to do.

But it wasn't like that.

Even though she was a grown woman, she was a princess, and princesses were different from normal girls.

It didn't matter if she were thirty, her father would still try to make sure that her life was on his leash.

Kagome wanted to break free of his hold. She wanted to break free of her engagement. She wanted to find love, real love, a love that wasn't learned, but was born of a connection and grew.

Kagome wanted to do whatever she could to convince her father to break off her engagement to InuYasha so that she could be free to search for the right man.

She wanted to have this opportunity after eighteen years of being held back, after eighteen years of being promised off, after eighteen years of being a prisoner in her own heart.

The bad thing was that she only had a limited amount of months to break out of her own personal jail.

The bad thing was that she had very little time to break herself from InuYasha.

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Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the characters. Though I do give my undying gratitude to Rumiko Takahashi for creating them. But I do own any original characters that I may bring into the story. Oh, and why don't we just say that this one little disclaimer covers the rest of the story, okay?


	15. Changes

Can I Keep You: Changes

Chapter 15

Changes

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Thanks for waiting everybody. Here's an update! Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews! "Best Friends and True Love" is over, but there's still plenty left of this story, so enjoy!

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It was a new day, bright and fresh. Kagome felt particularly good today after enjoying a day off from work and a day in the lap of luxury.

Last night, Kagome and Sango had gone to the best restaurant in the kingdom and ate like royalty. They'd gotten accustomed to the food they had to eat at the castle, but eating like they were rich again was something they'd taken for granted when they were at home.

Kagome wasn't particularly pleased with the swarm of people who tried to follow her wherever she went in that dress, which was why she was very happy to get back to their room at the inn and put her peasant dress back on.

She'd always liked how comfortable those dresses were. They weren't the most stylish things you'd find, but they allowed comfort and movement and Kagome rather liked that.

And another upside to that was the fact that the peasant didn't recognize her this way.

So when Kagome and Sango left the inn early that morning, deciding that the best way to get back to the castle and get the mail was to wait for the mail man to go down this street and catch a ride with him while getting the mail, she didn't expect for what came at her.

"I knew it was you!" Kanu called as she ran up to Kagome.

"Oh hey, you're the girl from before," Kagome said as she looked at Kanu.

Before Kagome could get another word out, Kanu grabbed her arm and began to drag her off somewhere.

Kagome, not wanting to be pulled off alone, grabbed Sango's arm so that she'd be taken with her.

Kanu finally stopped in a dark alley where Maruka, Simitsu, and Nariko were waiting.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kagome asked as she got her arm free and let go of Sango's. "I know karate and I'm not afraid to use it."

The girls laughed and Kagome looked over at Sango who shrugged.

"Oh come on. Surely you didn't think we wanted to jump you or something."

Kagome laughed, then shook her head.

"Why did you drag me here?"

"What's he like?" Maruka cut straight to the point.

"What's who like?" Kagome asked, confused.

The girls laughed again.

"You know, the prince. What's he like?" Maruka asked again.

Kagome gave Sango a questioning look and the one Sango gave her clearly said that she had no answer.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kagome said. "I know the prince even less than you do."

"Come on. You can trust us," Nariko said cheerfully. "We know who you are."

Kagome's mouth shot open.

"You do?"

"Yeah. You're the winner of that contest," Simitsu cleared up.

Kagome gave a sigh of relief as did Sango and they started laughing.

The girls look confused.

Kagome calmed down and smiled at them.

"How did you know it was me?" Kagome asked as she leaned against the wall.

"After I met you, I felt like I'd seen you somewhere before," Kanu began. "I saw you stick your head out of the window of the inn and Kikyo called you Gome. Then I realized that you were the same one as in the contest."

"You realized after you hit Kikyo with a tomato, that is," Kagome said.

"You never answered the question," Nariko pushed. "Is he a good kisser?"

Kagome blushed and turned toward Sango who laughed quietly.

"No way am I answering that," Kagome said as covered her face with her hands.

"It's a simple question. No girl before you has actually kissed him. You're the first so we want to know what he's like."

Kagome's mouth fell open.

"You're mistaken. That wasn't his first kiss," Kagome said. "Kikyo's probably already been there..."

"You don't know, do you?" Maruka said.

"Know what?"

Maruka shook her head.

"Nothing, nothing. Though I had hoped I would get that kiss, at least Kikyo didn't get it..."

"Is that all you girls think about?" Kagome asked. "There's more to the world than one little prince."

Kagome sighed.

"Come on Sango, we can't miss the mail. We've got to get back to the castle."

Sango pushed her hair back behind her ears.

"You're right," Sango said.

"Castle?" Kanu asked. "Why?"

"We work there," Sango said.

"There it is!" Kagome said as she grabbed Sango's arm and ran towards the mail carriage. "Bye girls!"

"Uh...bye?" Kanu said as she watched Kagome and Sango reach the mail carriage as it went down the street, grab onto a bar, and swing onto the carriage like acrobats.

"Who in the world are they?" Nariko asked as they watched the carriage continue down the street.

"The most interesting people I've ever seen around here," Kanu said as she joined her friends once more.

"You again?" the mail man asked as Kagome and Sango climbed inside and sat next to him.

"Yep. We're terribly sorry to trouble you so," Kagome said. "We were in town this morning and merely wished to catch a ride back to the castle. We hope you do not mind."

"It's fine," the man said and he pointed to the bag with the castle's mail in it.

"Thanks," Kagome said as Sango got the bag and found the mail.

"Oh. Lord Sesshomaru's got some mail," Sango said. "And this one looks pretty important. Like it's from a lady!"

"What?" Kagome said. "No way!"

"I'm merely joking."

"Quit pulling my leg," Kagome said.

"Prince InuYasha got something that looks pretty important also and Rin did, too."

"Something's going on..." Kagome said. "I wonder what..."

Kagome looked out of the carriage, remembering that day she'd come to these lands to see InuYasha so long ago.

The scenery hadn't changed much, still beautiful and soothing, but so many other things had changed. In just six years, they'd both changed so much.

"This is our stop," the mail man said as he came to a stop in front of the castle.

"We thank you," Kagome said as she picked up the mail and got out of the carriage after Sango.

"Have a nice day," Sango said as she the carriage began to move past them.

"Good morning Shintaro," Kagome said to the guard who was standing outside, keeping watch.

"You two hitched a ride with the mail man?"

"We did," Sango told him. "We just couldn't wait to get back to give you this."

She pulled a bag of food out from the bag she had her dress in and handed it to him.

"Thanks. You two are angels," he said as Kagome and Sango headed inside.

"No problem," she told him.

"Morning Ishizeki," Sango said to the other guard.

He waved at them and they disappeared inside.

Last night when they went out to eat, they'd thought to save some food to give to Shintaro. He was paying for treatment for his ill mother while trying to support a family of five. His family hadn't had anything decent to eat in quite a while so that thought that first class food should do them well.

"You can take Miroku's mail," Kagome said.

"And you can take the rest," Sango told her.

Kagome laughed.

"No way. We should split it. I'm not doing all of the work."

"Come on. How much work is getting a few letters and giving them to the people they're for?"

"Which is exactly why you should be able to do it," Kagome told her as she hit her in top of the head with the mail.

"Can't. I should get our stuff to our room, don't you think?"

Kagome sighed, seeing the reason in that.

"Fine, go ahead," Kagome said as she handed her bag to Sango.

"Good luck Gome," she said as hurried away.

Kagome stood there for a minute, wondering who she should get their mail to first.

'I'm not looking forward to seeing InuYasha,' she thought. 'I'm never ready for Sesshomaru's cold, calculating look, but I suppose Rin wouldn't give me any gray hairs...'

She decided that Rin was the one she should get the mail to first and headed off towards the library, a good place to look for Rin.

She was such an inquisitive girl, not unlike Kagome was herself.

But saying that Rin loved to read would be taking it lightly.

Kagome hadn't actually been in the library before, but she knew where it was.

Going down a hall and finding the right door, Kagome peeked inside before coming in.

"Wow," she said as she saw the huge library.

It was packed with books, reminding her of the library back in her family's castle.

She heard light humming and guessed that it was Rin.

Following the humming sound, she came to find Rin sitting on a small couch in front of large windows surrounded by bookcases.

"Lady Rin, if you don't mind, I must say that you always have your little nose so far into a book that it's a wonder it doesn't get lost," Kagome said as she stopped in front of her.

"Sometimes, it does," Rin laughed. "Was there something you needed?"

Kagome looked out the huge windows and then back to Rin.

"Here," Kagome said as she handed Rin the envelope. "You've received some mail today and it looks of great importance.

Rin took the envelope and her eyes lit up.

"Wow!" she said as she looked at it. "Thank you, this is quite good."

"I'll be going now," Kagome told her. "Your brothers received mail also."

"Bye," Rin told her. "Oh I wish to congratulate you on winning that contest."

"Thanks," Kagome said as she left.

She sighed as she came to the door. She knew that Sesshomaru and his cold glare were on the other side of it, but she'd still rather deal with him than deal with InuYasha.

She wasn't afraid of InuYasha and she wasn't afraid of Sesshomaru, so she wasn't worrying over giving him his mail.

Bringing her hand up, Kagome knocked on the door.

"Enter," she heard Sesshomaru say before she opened the door and went inside.

She found him sitting at his desk, looking out of the window, a stoic look on his handsome face.

"Excuse me Lord Sesshomaru," Kagome said. "I hate to intrude upon your solitude, but your received mail this morning."

He didn't spare her a glance but she didn't care as she handed him the envelope.

He looked down at it and for a split second, Kagome could've sworn she'd seen some kind of emotion in his eyes.

Was it amusement? Excitement? She didn't know, but she knew that she saw something in that icy stare of his.

"Is this all?" he asked her.

"It is," Kagome told him.

"Then take your leave. I wish to be alone."

"Of course," Kagome told him with a bow before leaving the room.

Next was InuYasha. She didn't know where he was, but she decided to go look in his room.

She knocked on the door. There was no answer.

"Hello?" Kagome said as she knocked again.

Cracking the door, she didn't see anybody inside, so she opened the door and went in just to make sure.

"Hello?" she called again.

She sighed.

"I guess he's not in here. Where could he be...?"

Just then, she heard his bathroom door open and turned around only to find him coming out of it with nothing but a towel on.

"Aaaah!" she screamed.

"Aaaah!" he yelled.

Kagome put his mail over her eyes and backed up against the wall, blushing a dark shade of red.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" he asked. "Pouncing on top of me at the contest wasn't enough, huh? You had to come in here and peek at me now?"

"As if!" Kagome defended. "I have no interest in peeking at you! I merely came to deliver your mail to you, that is all!"

"Yeah, sure," he said sarcastically.

"In case you didn't forget, I'm not Kikyo, so don't get cocky!" Kagome said.

"What?"

"Here," Kagome said as she glared at him and gave him his mail."

He forgot that he was standing there in a towel and looked at the letter in high interest.

As Kagome was leaving the room, after taking in more than enough of the view of it, he rushed by her into the hall, still in his towel.

Sesshomaru had come out of the room he was in and Rin was rushing down the hall.

"Did you get the same?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Yeah, I did," InuYasha said.

"Then it's true!" Rin said.

"Father's coming home!" they said at the same time.


	16. The King's Return

Can I Keep You: The King's Return

Chapter 16

The King's Return

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Thanks for reading and for all of the reviews everybody! Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it. And if you like Fullmetal Alchemist, you should try reading my other stories, too. Well, here it is.

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Kagome came out of his room, her mouth wide open.

"This is great!" Rin said as she did a little spin. "Sesshomaru, show a little bit of emotion, would you!"

"This Sesshomaru knows not the petty feelings of humans," he said, a small smile on his face. "Though I am interested in hearing how his trip went."

"Damn. Things aren't ready for him," InuYasha said. "Gome!"

"Sir?" Kagome said from where she stood.

"Go alert the staff that the king will be returning tonight. Everything needs to be clean, everybody needs to be ready, and a big dinner is in store."

"Of course!" Kagome said as she rushed away.

"InuYasha, why are you wearing a towel?" Rin asked as she looked at him, confused.

An amused smile almost crossed Sesshomaru's lips...almost, but not quite.

The King's Return

Kagome and Sango watched as everybody ran around in a frenzied panic.

"Hurry, hurry! The king's coming back tonight!" someone called.

"Everything has to be perfect!" another yelled.

"We'll never be done on time!" somebody else cried.

They were all running around cleaning this, cleaning that, mopping here and there and dusting everywhere!

Kagome was a little worried. What if the king recognized her?!

But that was impossible, wasn't it?

After all, she hadn't seen him since that day she saw InuYasha years ago.

After attending finishing school, Kagome had only attended one royal party and even then, he wasn't there and even if he were there, her looks had dramatically changed since then.

She'd gone through those grueling etiquette classes, but a little while after finishing up with that and going to that party, she grew into her height, getting curves in all the right places, filling out, and her freckles even disappeared.

She started to grow out of the ugly duckling phase and become a swan.

After her parents acknowledged their agreement and said she could study what she wanted, she'd spent her years learning the things she desired and rarely ever made appearances at parties, though they'd wanted her to.

They'd told her that she was a princess and was expected to show herself to the public of her kingdom, but she rarely did that, being so caught up in doing what she'd desired to do for so long.

In the long run, it worked to her advantage since nobody in this kingdom seemed to know who she really was, which was great for her.

She sighed and tried to shake off the uneasy feeling she was getting.

Sango was watching the rush of people with a highly amused look on her face.

"It reminds me of back home," she whispered.

"Are you getting homesick?" Kagome asked.

"No, I'm just saying that it's so similar, that's all," Sango said as she watched a maid sit on a towel and jump onto the wet floor, skidding across it in a fun looking attempt to dry it off.

One girl stood on the widow with a wet rag and put it on the window before jumping and running the rag down the window as she fell.

Another strapped floor scrubbers to her feet like skates and hurried across it, cleaning it along the way.

"They sure do get creative when they're in a hurry," Kagome said.

Sango laughed.

"We might as well help," Kagome said as she began to walk across the floor, suddenly slipping.

Squeezing her eyes closed, she was sure that she was about to make impact with the floor.

But that was before an arm reached out and caught her, stopping her fall.

The arm held her in her slanted position that she was falling in.

She opened her eyes and looked into the amber orbs of her greatest enemy, InuYasha.

She was speechless. He'd fought her yesterday, saved her today.

What held her in that spot? Those eyes, it had to be those eyes. They took her breath away.

He was looking down at her before they both came to their senses.

They couldn't have been there like that for more than five seconds, but that moment seemed to last forever as he helped her stand up.

"Be more careful next time," InuYasha told her. "Don't break a leg on this damn slippery floor."

And before he knew it, he almost fell himself.

Kagome laughed as she watched him regain his balance.

"Okay. I'll be careful if you are," Kagome told him.

"Deal," he told her as he watched her walk away towards Sango.

Kagome leaned against the wall and let out a big sigh.

"Phew. I thought I was going to fall," Kagome said.

"Yes, but you didn't," Sango said as she watched Kagome's eyes following InuYasha around the corner. "It appears as if your eyes are stuck on one figure."

"They are not," Kagome defended.

"Sure," Sango said. "Say what you wish."

"Wish this," Kagome said as she pushed Sango, who skidded over the wet floor, but not before grabbing onto Kagome's arm and taking her with her.

They both fell and ended up on the other side of the room, the floor dry, but their dresses not.

They were laughing and wondering just what other kinds of fun could happen from this energetic cleaning.

Sango took some more of those scrubbing skates and pushed Kagome around, who was sitting on the rolling mop bucket with the mop out in front of her.

It was pretty interesting until Sango let Kagome run into the wall, her falling on the floor and the water soaking her from head to toe, the mop landing on her head.

Of course Kagome then got back at Sango by making her run into the girl who was holding the water for scrubbing windows, making Sango get soaked, too, the rag falling over her face.

The floor was so slippery that they both put towels under their feet and slid across the floor, drying it.

In the end, the castle ended up being spotless, but they ended up getting soaked and dirty, laughing despite themselves.

It was quite the eventful day.

Kagome and Sango had gotten cleaned up and put on clean, dry dresses before returning to their work, sweeping the kitchen floors and scrubbing the large windows of the dining room.

The end result was pretty good, though.

By the time they called themselves done, they were positively exhausted.

Being royalty, they'd never worked like this in their life, let alone this much. The experiences they had here were firsts for them, surprises around the corner.

Kagome and Sango sat on the floor, back to back, as they tried to catch their breath.

Kagome kicked the broom to the side and Sango tossed a rag across the room.

"Remind me to thank my parents," Kagome said to Sango.

"Why?" she asked.

"For me being their daughter and thus being who I really am," Kagome explained.

Sango laughed.

"A little hard work never hurt anybody. Admit, you found this to be fun."

Kagome smiled despite herself.

"I'll admit," she told Sango. "I found it pretty interesting."

They both started laughing before getting up and putting the broom and rag in their rightful places.

When they left the room, half of the cleaning staff was on the floor, tired out from their scurrying about all day.

Kagome and Sango couldn't help but laugh more.

Growing up without having to do such work, they realized that they'd come to take everything they had for granted.

Kagome made a mental note to herself to make sure her parents doubled the pay of the hired help of the castle when she got back.

Sitting outside, looking at the flowers in the garden, Kagome and Sango sat there trying to rest.

"Oh, my feet are aching," Sango complained.

"My back hurts," Kagome whined.

The sun hit them and warmed their skin.

"Things could be worse," Miru commented as she joined them.

"You're right," Kagome said to her. "I never realized what you had to do before now."

Miru smiled slightly as she looked at the two of them in obvious pain.

"Do not distress over it. It is not an issue when it is what you have done your entire life."

Sango sighed as she shook her head before jumping up so quickly that Kagome didn't even have the chance to blink.

"Come on!" Sango said cheerfully as she looked at them. "You are right! How can we sit by groaning when Miru has been through such a many pains?"

Kagome smiled a bit as she stood up and pulled Miru with her.

"I suppose you're correct," Kagome said. "Miru, I promise you better."

"There is no need for that," Miru told her, her hands held in front of her as if she were pushing somebody away.

"Oh but I believe there is," Kagome said. "It is not movement for an argument. You shall be pleased in the long run."

Miru sighed, but nodded.

"I want to go rest my eyes for a little," Sango said.

"And I believe I still have a few things to do inside," Miru told them.

"I think I'm going to stay out here," Kagome said to them. "Go ahead and do as you may. I shall be in soon enough."

They nodded before leaving her there.

She sat there, feeling the warmth of the sun and the cool of the breeze on her skin.

She was surrounded by the flowers and the overall atmosphere was calming.

She heard a horse and looked up to see InuYasha riding his horse, coming closer and closer to where she sat.

Kagome pretended not to notice him as he made his way over to her.

Though she couldn't help but notice the way his silvery hair whipped around with the wind as the horse took him to his desired destinations.

He came to a stop before her before hopping off of it.

"Do girls like flowers so much?" he asked her as she kept her gaze on the petals of a nearby flower.

Kagome shook her head.

"They don't?" he asked.

Kagome looked up at him.

"Not all girls do, no," Kagome said. "But most of them do."

"What about you?" he asked.

"Me? I like them, sure, I just find it easy not to go crazy over them," she told him as she examined the garden.

He sat down next to her and looked at the flowers himself.

She felt uneasy sitting next to him like that, but she didn't comment on it as she tried to appear distracted by the beauty of the flowers.

He sighed, breaking the silence that had fallen.

She looked over at him, wondering what was on his mind.

"Look," he spoke. "I wanted to apologize. My behavior before wasn't appropriate."

Kagome laughed lightly.

"Please. I tackled a prince. I find myself being the one who wasn't appropriate."

"But as I think back, I find it bad since I tempted you with such harsh words."

"You can sit here playing the 'I'm sorry, it's my fault' game, or you can accept that it happened and leave it at that."

"Wise words for hired help," he said to her.

"I suppose so. Working here and my education are different issues."

Kagome looked at the bright blue sky above, at the white fluffy clouds as they floated slowly by.

She could feel his eyes on her and wondered just what he was thinking about at the moment. Sure, she was really a princess, but here at this point in time, she was masquerading as an employee here.

What could he possibly think of somebody like her?

"You aren't like the other ones around here," he said.

"What?"

"I mean you and your friend, you're different. All of the others have been working here for a long time or else have worked somewhere else, but sometimes I get the feeling that you'd hardly ever done a bit of manual labor your whole lives," he pointed out as he stared at her, making her feel a bit uncomfortable.

Kagome couldn't breathe for a second. Was it that obvious that she wasn't accustomed to this sort of thing? Would her cover be blown because of something so simple? She shook her head and strengthened her resolve to execute her plans with skill.

"That's ridiculous sir," Kagome told him as she looked over at him. "Gogo and myself have been working since we could stand. I don't see how you could possibly think we haven't."

InuYasha shrugged with a sigh.

"It's just that...never mind. I suppose I was wrong, I'll just let it go..."

'Great!' Kagome thought. 'I was worried there for a minute...'

She let out a sigh of relief and then smiled slightly.

"No offense, but why are you out here speaking to me, prince?" Kagome couldn't help but ask, curious as to why he was there.

He seemed caught off guard before he raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"As the prince of this kingdom, I guess it's my duty to find out what's going on with the people who live here. I want to know their opinions about things and even a friendly conversation couldn't hurt. Not all royalty sit in their castles all day, bathing in the glory of the frikin lap of luxury."

'Maybe I judged him wrong,' Kagome thought.

"I guess I sometimes like to go out into town and teach them a thing or two about my awesome swordsmanship!"

'On second thought, maybe I did judge him right...'

"But the people find it entertaining and it makes them happy to see me out there, so it's good to please the people."

"But openly flaunting your abilities isn't always the best path to bringing your people joy," Kagome told him. "I admit that it's good to care about what they want. That's what you should do. You should talk to them, ask them what you can do to make the kingdom better, and then set out to do what you can for them. That'll bring them true happiness."

InuYasha looked at her with a curious expression on her face. She kept her expression blank, though inside she was beginning to panic.

'Oh no! There I go speaking like a princess again! I'm supposed to be a peasant, not an educated noble who knows how to better the situations of the kingdom!'

"You're right," InuYasha said finally. "I think I should expand the one on one talks to a group discussion in the town square."

'Now he's thinking smart,' Kagome thought. 'Ask not what you kingdom can do for you, but what you can do for your kingdom!'

"That sounds like a great idea. You're so smart, sir," she spoke.

"Yeah, I sure am," he started.

'Gee, no modesty at all,' Kagome thought, a slight frown on her face.

"But I wouldn't be smart at all if I didn't accept smart advice," he finished.

'Now that's better,' Kagome thought as she looked back over at him.

She noticed him looking over at a group of beautiful red flowers, isolated, but gorgeous in their glory.

He almost looked sad, but why?

The horse neighed and snapped InuYasha out of his trance.

He stood up and got on his horse.

"I've gotta go make sure that everything is good to go," he told her. "Thanks for helping me."

"I need no thanks," Kagome told him. "I only want to be witness to the results that come of it. I should be honored to be of service."

They parted ways, him speeding away on his horse and her heading back inside on her own two feet.

She took another look over at those beautiful red flowers that brought sadness to the face of the prince and she had to wonder what these blossoms meant to him.

Everything was finally ready.

The castle was spotless, the staff was prepared, and a big feast was done for the return of the king.

Everybody was whispering in excitement. Did they await their king's return so eagerly?

It reminded her of back at her kingdom. Her father was adored by the people of the kingdom and adored by the ones who worked for him.

She supposed that it was the same way even here in this place. She guessed that in this, the lord of the western lands was similar to her father, the king of the east.

Kagome watched through the window, seeing InuYasha, Sesshomaru, Rin and even Kikyo lined up outside waiting for him to come.

Everybody broke out into excited chatter as the golden looking carriage pulled to a stop before the castle.

Sesshomaru quietly approached the carriage and opened the door as the tall man stepped out, silver hair fluttering and amber eyes shining.

"Welcome back father," the three siblings said at the same time as he got out of the carriage.

There was no denying that the king had returned.


	17. Royalty of the West

Can I Keep You: Royalty of the West

Chapter 17

Royalty of the West

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Thanks for reading and for reviewing! I'm really happy today so here's the update! Please enjoy it!

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"Father," Sesshomaru spoke as he made his way to the man's side. "I trust that your trip went well."

"Indeed it did," the king said. "All of the arrangements have been made."

"Look!" Rin said in excitement as she tugged on the man's sleeve. "I think I got the book you sent me!"

The king smiled down at her and rubbed her head before heading toward the stairs.

"InuYasha," he addressed the young prince. "I hope you have been behaving yourself."

InuYasha snorted.

"You make it sound like I'm a six year old. I refrained from making trouble, though," InuYasha said as he fell into step behind his father.

InuYasha thought back to all of the trouble he'd caused during his father's absence, including the fights with Gome.

His eyes went blank as he imagined the bad scenario that might come.

"Don't mind him," Rin said. "InuYasha is still upset."

"Over what?" he asked.

"Over that fi..."

InuYasha covered the girl's mouth with his hand and laughed nervously.

"I'm not upset, I assure you," InuYasha spoke. "Rin, you really shouldn't say stuff like that."

The king looked at InuYasha in a suspicious manner before looking over at Sesshomaru with a questioning look in his eyes.

Sesshomaru sighed before shaking his head.

"InuYasha got into a skirmish with a peasant just the other day," Sesshomaru explained.

The king's eyes grew wide before he turned on his heel and looked at InuYasha.

InuYasha freed Rin and sighed.

"InuYasha, you fought a peasant?" he asked, shock apparent and anger rising.

"Father, it was a woman peasant," Sesshomaru supplied.

"Thanks a damn lot Sesshomaru," InuYasha growled.

"Oops, I let that slip?" Sesshomaru said though everybody knew he was far from innocent with that.

"A woman?" their father said as he narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"If I may," Rin said as she tugged on the king's sleeve once more. "There's more to the story to understand before placing judgment."

"See? Sesshomaru wishes for you to condemn me, but at least Rin here gives me a chance," InuYasha huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Their father sighed before looking back at InuYasha.

"I only just got back. I do not wish to know of your actions as of yet, so for now, lets go inside."

"Yes father," they all said as they followed him.

InuYasha glared at Rin for bringing the subject up and then glared at Sesshomaru for spilling the beans.

InuYasha then gave a defeated sigh and followed his father inside the castle.

InuYasha shook his head and let out a sigh of relief that his father didn't know about what happened while he was away.

He'd asked Sesshomaru and Rin to keep it on the down low, but he wasn't so sure just how long they'd keep their mouths closed on that subject.

As soon as they entered the castle, everybody inside stepped forward and welcomed him home.

"Welcome home master!" people called.

"The lord of the land has returned at last!" somebody called out.

"The king has returned!"

Kagome arched an eyebrow. She was impressed. This man gained such an enthusiastic reaction from the staff of his castle. She could only imagine how the people in town would react to seeing him.

"The lord of the lands is very well loved by the people," Miru commented as she looked at Kagome. "He is a good man, like the king of the east."

"I can see," Kagome replied as she watched him make his way by her.

InuYasha shot her a look that she didn't understand, almost one of panic.

She shook her head. Him, panic? Ha! She couldn't believe that.

Rin appeared to be laughing and Sesshomaru looked slightly amused. Just what had happened to cause such alien reactions from the royalty of the west?

It was definitely different from how she usually saw them. She shrugged her shoulders and continued to watch the happenings around her.

Kagome took a good look at the king.

She could definitely see the family resemblance between him and his sons.

InuYasha and Sesshomaru both had his hair and eyes, though Kagome had to admit that Sesshomaru bared more of a resemblance to the noble man than InuYasha did. She wondered just how much he looked like his mother, that InuYasha.

She shrugged off the thoughts and kept focused.

She hadn't seen the king since she was twelve and he hadn't seen her since then, so she wasn't worried about being recognized.

Miroku made his way beside InuYasha and poked him in the shoulder before laughing at something that Rin had said.

His very presence made the castle a jovial place of jubilation.

Kagome smiled slightly at Sango, who nodded.

Miru seemed pleased.

Kagome suddenly seemed to become rather gloomy though as she thought about the things she'd heard about InuYasha.

If his father was such a wonderful man, why hadn't InuYasha taken after him? And if this man was so seemingly warm with his subjects, why was Sesshomaru so cold?

It seemed that he was so different from his sons, but maybe Kagome wasn't really looking for things that might be similar between the three.

Maybe Sesshomaru wasn't so cold, but calm and collected, as Kagome was sure the king could definitely be.

And maybe that fire and passion towards things that InuYasha displayed also was something that resided in the honorable ruler.

But she didn't know if that coldly condescending manner or that arrogant confidence his sons displayed was inherited from him…

Any way she sewed with the thread, her thoughts still came out the same.

That was just the way it was for her.

During her time at the castle, Kagome had been keeping as close an eye on her fiancé as she could, and she had to admit that some of his actions seemed quite suspicious.

For example, he'd held a party not that awful long ago and she'd seen him disappear with a couple of girls.

Now what was she supposed to make of that? Oh, he's running off with them just for a chat? Not very likely, in her opinion.

And she could also recall watching him sneak away from the castle going somewhere, she could only presume to be into town.

And not only that, but she could've sworn that she'd caught him out of the corner of her eye before while she was in town, but she didn't really know what he was doing, but she also thought she'd seen a girl's hand pulling him along.

Also suspicious was the fact that she'd spotted him going into somebody's house before with a huge bouquet of beautiful flowers.

What was up with all of that?

Sure, she was looking for the truth to the rumors, but was she reading into all of this a little too far, seeing only what she wanted to see?

She doubted that, but even a princess could have her share of mistaken speculations.

She knew what she'd heard and she knew what she'd seen and she knew that he was up to something, even if he wasn't necessarily doing what she thought he was doing.

It was around ten o'clock and she was in town getting something that Kaede had requested. Kagome had noticed that Kaede seemed to prefer sending her on errands more than she did anybody else.

Maybe she was wrong, but even if she was sure that she was right, she wouldn't dare to comment on it.

She was on her way out of Jinenji's shop when she saw InuYasha putting on a little sword fight show.

She didn't feel like getting in on it was such a good idea, so she stood back for a minute watching before she made a hasty retreat back toward the castle now that her deed was done.

He seemed to enjoy flaunting his capabilities, something she didn't take pleasure in back home. She wasn't a show off like him.

Oh, did she just think of him as a show off? Who would be sorry for thinking that after watching him parade around town acting like he was so great and eating up the attention he received?

She shook her head as she got into the castle. Her thoughts were sort of getting out of hand, in her opinion.

It was getting dark and she could see out of the window that InuYasha was getting back. The banquet being held in honor of the king and in celebration of his anticipated return was being held that night.

Even more work had yet to be done and she was bracing herself for it.

She gave Kaede what she'd sent her after and hurried off to find Sango, only to see her sweeping in front of Miroku's room, not paying attention to the work she was supposed to be doing.

"Something you find interesting in there, Gogo?" Kagome couldn't help but ask.

Sango almost screamed from the surprise of Kagome sneaking up behind her, but let out a sigh of relief after seeing her.

"Not really," Sango said. "It's just that I thought I saw Kikyo in there and I was a bit curious."

Kagome took Sango back down the hall before making a remark.

"Worry not, Gogo. I think she's much too interested in the prince to take notice of master Miroku."

Sango blushed.

"You read me wrong. I have no interest in him that way. I just get the strange feeling that Kikyo is up to something, but I know not what…"

"Something mischievous, no doubt," Kagome said thoughtfully. "But I won't ponder on that now. We have to go help get things ready for the banquet."

Sango let out a long suffering sigh.

"First we spent the better part of the day cleaning our rears off to get the castle, which should've already been reasonably clean, spotless so that it was perfect when the king arrived. Now we have to help get everything ready for this huge banquet in his favor?"

Sango let out a longer sigh this time before almost throwing her broom down.

"Gogo. Such is the life of one who works hard. Not everybody is well provided for. Many have to do it for themselves," Kagome said as she took the broom from Sango as she sat on her bed. "I'll take this broom back to the kitchen. You sit there and rest and I'll come get you in half an hour."

"Fine," Sango said, waving at her with the hand that wasn't over her tired eyes.

Kagome suppressed a laugh and left the room.

How Sango could get more tired out than Kagome, she didn't know. After all they'd been through, all the training due to their interests, they'd been tired before, but cleaning a castle certainly was new to them.

But she didn't expect that it'd be this hard. How difficult could simple cleaning be, she'd wondered. She wasn't expecting this.

The people here went all out, which Kagome thought would be even more exhausting than normal cleaning would be. It certainly was much more fun than normal cleaning, but it sure did end up being tough on her.

Kagome sat the broom against the wall and left the room.

Kagome glanced around the kitchen and saw all of the people in there hard at work.

She figured that they weren't paying any attention to her, so she sneaked on over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bit of chocolate syrup before putting it in a glass of milk and stirring it.

"Good thing the king won't be wanting chocolate milk," Miru commented as she sneaked up behind Kagome.

Kagome spun around so fast that she almost spilled her milk.

"Miru!"

"My apologies," Miru rushed to say. "I didn't expect to surprise you so much."

Kagome drank her chocolate milk and washed out the glass before speaking again.

"It's no problem," Kagome said. "There's so many people in here, I should've expected to be caught…"

"Where's Sa…Gogo?" Miru asked.

"Oh, that's right. She was pretty tired from a long day of such hard work, so I was letting her rest for a bit."

Miru sighed.

"I guess hard labor has taken its toll on one such as her…"

Kagome cleared her throat.

"Sorry!" Miru rushed to say. "But I'm sure you understand my meaning."

Kagome sighed, too.

"I do, Miru. I do only too well…"

"Well, I wish not to keep you from whatever it is you are doing, so I must go help cook now."

"Bye, Miru," Kagome said.

Kagome looked over and saw what time it was.

"Oh no! I've been gone that long?!" Kagome said. "Not like she couldn't use the extra rest, though, but I should hurry…"

Kagome hurried out of the kitchen, running down the hallway, and straight into something before falling back.

"Ouch!" Kagome said, rubbing her ankle.

"Are you hurt?" a concerned, familiar voice said to her.

Kagome looked up and saw none other than InuYasha standing there.

Her face exploded in embarrassed color.

How could she do this in front of him of all people?!

"I'm so sorry!" Kagome said. "I was in such a hurry that I was not paying enough attention."

Kagome tried to stand, but fell back, holding onto her ankle.

"Ouch!" she said, from the impact on the ground and from her sore ankle.

'Ugh! I am not weak! How can I be reduced to whining on the ground like some injured animal?!' she thought, blinking back the tears that came from the pain.

"Let me help you," he told her.

"Oh no. I couldn't have you doing that I…"

He silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"Here," he said as he wrapped his arms around her gently before picking her up, cradling her against his chest.

'What's…What's he doing?!' Kagome thought, trying in vain to fight back the painful blush that colored her face.

He took her over to a comfortable chair and gently sat her down before pulling out her leg.

The blush became quite painful, burning her cheeks like fire.

He took off her shoe and her sock so that he could get a better look at her injury.

The prince put one hand on her leg to support it.

A strange fluttering erupted in her stomach, though she didn't really understand it.

"Let me know if this hurts," he said.

He used his other hand to feel the area around her ankle.

"Ow!" Kagome couldn't help saying.

He asked somebody to bring him some ice as he continued to look at her injury.

He seemed slightly amused when he saw the expression on her face. He didn't know exactly what to call it, but it seemed somewhere between embarrassment, pain, and something else that he definitely couldn't define.

The woman returned with the ice and InuYasha handed it to Kagome.

"Here," he said. "It's sprained pretty badly so you should stay off it for a little while. Put that ice on it so it doesn't swell too badly."

Kagome snatched the ice out of his hand and got her shoe and sock before standing up.

She'd let him see her weak, vulnerable, and she didn't like that. The last thing she was going to do was give him the satisfaction of seeing her limp away like a weak little wimp.

"I'll take the ice with me, though I don't really need it," Kagome said. "I thank you for the help, though I really must get going now."

With that said, Kagome left the room, walking away as if she wasn't injured in the least, though he didn't miss the slight flinch that escaped her.

She was definitely an interesting person. He had to give her that, but he figured out that she sure could be stubborn to a fault.

Why didn't she just admit that she was in pain and listen to his advice? Sure, he wasn't a doctor, but he wasn't stupid. He knew what he was talking about.

Maybe it wasn't that she thought he was stupid. Maybe she thought he was stupid when it came to women? Or maybe it was that she thought he was a little too smart…at least in that department…


	18. Representing

Can I Keep You: Representing

Chapter 18

Representing

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Wow, I got so many reviews and so many people read. Thanks a lot! I'm so happy, so here's an update!

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'As much as I really hate to admit it…' Kagome thought with a groan. 'I think I should've listened to InuYasha…'

Kagome let out another groan as she hobbled out of bed.

She gasped suddenly.

"Oh no! What time is it?! I missed the mail?! Oh no! What am I going to do? Where's Sango?!!!"

Kagome shot up so fast, she would've ignored the pain of her ankle if it hadn't brought her to her knees.

"Get back in bed," she heard the familiar voice say.

"Sango! Why didn't you wake me up? I can't afford to sleep like this!"

"You also cannot afford to be so injured that it hinders your working capability," Sango told her as she made her lay back down before handing her some ice.

Kagome was reluctant to comply, but did so anyway.

Sango had known something was wrong when Kagome had walked in the room, closed the door behind her, and then cried out in pain before hobbling over to her bed yesterday evening.

It must have been pretty bad because Sango had always thought Kagome was indestructible since she dealt with pain fairly well.

She'd known that Kagome was hurt, but Kagome, who was pretty stubborn, refused to admit it and had gone on with helping with the feast.

She'd walked seemingly effortlessly from the kitchen to the dining room, serving food for the royal family.

Sango could see something strange in InuYasha's eyes as he watched Kagome, though. It was like he knew she was in pain, but he had a strange look as if he were in awe of the fact that she could act like she didn't feel a thing so well.

Kagome had served him food without so much as looking at him, but she could feel his eyes on her, which made her even more determined to mask the pain and act as if she weren't injured in the least.

When she was no longer needed, Kagome hurried away and collapsed on her bed, claiming to Sango that she was merely tired and needed her rest.

Sango knew better and had figured out that Kagome had gotten hurt somehow, but refused to admit it.

But Sango had to admit that she was slightly amused as she wondered how InuYasha fit into that equation.

"Don't act like you're unscathed," Sango told her. "I know you got hurt and you've only made it worse by going on as if you aren't."

"It's not too bad," Kagome protested. "As long as I can walk on it, I'm fine. Why didn't you wake me up?!"

Sango rolled her eyes as she sat down next to Kagome.

"Oh please don't give me that Kagome," Sango said. "I know it's bad, I looked at it and it's black and blue. The swelling looks awful and you're not going to be working on that. That's why I failed to wake you. You overexerted yourself yesterday and you were so tired and you're injured."

Kagome growled slightly out of irritation.

"Prince InuYasha was curious as to why you weren't the one delivering his mail this morning," Sango commented nonchalantly.

Kagome slapped a hand over her head and fell back on her bed.

"What did you tell him?" Kagome asked, her voice smothered by the hand.

Sango would've hidden the amused smile on her face, but she didn't need to since Kagome could see it.

"I told him that your services were needed elsewhere this morning," Sango told her. "Though I did fail to mention that they were needed in your bed in your sleep…"

Kagome sat back up and sighed.

"Good. I don't need him knowing that he was right…"

"Oh?" Sango asked, pretty amused by that. "Right about what?"

Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I took the broom back to the kitchen yesterday and got me a glass of milk. I ended up talking to Miru and I remembered that I had to wake you so that you could work, so I rushed down the hall. But then I ran right into Prince InuYasha and fell and ended up spraining my ankle."

Sango was obviously thinking about how embarrassing that was for Kagome and wasn't hiding the amused smile she was wearing.

"So he picked me up and carried me over to a chair, took off my shoe and sock, looked at my ankle, and got me some ice. Then I left. End of story."

"I know there must be more to it than that…" Sango remarked.

"No, I don't think there is…" Kagome spoke as she looked in the opposite direction. "He told me I should stay off of it, but I'll never admit weakness to any man, let alone him."

Sango shook her head.

"You are a stubborn mule."

"InuYasha is egotistical and a showoff. I don't need a knight in shining armor to come and save me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and I don't need him thinking otherwise," Kagome said.

"Come on," Sango said.

"Where are we going?" Kagome asked.

"I'm taking you to Kaede. I'm sure she has something that'll cure you in no time," Sango said as she pulled Kagome to her feet.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking myself to Kaede," Kagome said. "You just go along with your work.

Sango rolled her eyes.

"Fine, you're a big girl and you are competent enough to do it all by yourself," Sango said. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. You'll be more shocked to discover that the Prince did not receive love letters today."

"What?!" Kagome said, almost falling over. "That's a first. You really should've woken me up for that."

Kagome left the room and started down the hall, heading toward where Kaede was.

Kagome wanted to put her shoe on her injured foot, but it was too swollen to fit, so she had to limp down the hallway with one shoe on.

She leaned against the wall and stuck her foot out, turning it to the side to examine her injured ankle.

Sango was right. It was black and blue. It looked horrible and it was so swollen that Kagome didn't think she'd ever be able to fit back into that shoe again.

Nobody was around, so she limped miserably. She knew that going to see Kaede was a good idea.

As much as Kagome hated to admit it, she would've been able to get through another day of work without crying out in horrible pain and falling over from it.

She used her hand against the wall to push herself forward and she tried to keep pressure off of her foot.

She hopped for a minute, but found that it wasn't such a good idea.

She suddenly felt eyes on her, but when she turned around, nobody was there.

Finally reaching Kaede, Kagome collapsed on a bed, wiping the sweat of effort off of her forehead.

"Gome, ye do not look well. What is wrong?" Kaede asked as she hurried over to the bed Kagome was on.

Kagome panted, out of breath.

It took her a minute before she was able to speak.

Kaede looked worried and Kagome sighed.

"I was hurrying back to my room yesterday and I failed to pay attention. I regret to say that I bumped into Prince InuYasha and fell, spraining my ankle in the process."

"Even so, it shouldn't look so bad. What have ye been doing?"

"He told me I should stay off of it, but I am here to work and I do not have the luxury of just laying around in my bed. So I continued working and I served food at their dinner."

Kaede looked very serious, the same look her parents got when she did something wrong and she was about to get scolded for it.

"Ye should have listened to him. This is bad, Gome. If you had abided by his wishes, there would be no need to be here with me right now."

"I know," Kagome told her. "I know I should've stayed off of it, but the fact is that I didn't. Are you able to help me?"

Kaede looked like she wanted to laugh.

"Of course I can help you," Kaede said. "I'm merely telling ye that ye should take injuries more seriously. Let this be a lesson that ye shall hopefully follow the next time around."

Kaede took a better look at the injury and shook her head as she put some kind of liquefied herb concoction on the ankle and wrapped it up as gently as she could, though Kagome did flinch from pain every now and then.

Kaede finished and patted Kagome on her knee.

"Come back in an hour and I'll do this again. After that, it should be healed within an hour after that time."

"Thank you Kaede. You are truly a gift."

"Thank me not, lass. Thank the herbs I had ye bring me yesterday. And remember to take it easy until it is healed. Do not forget to come back in an hour."

"Okay," Kagome said.

"Are ye sure there is nothing else wrong?" Kaede asked, concerned.

"Positive," Kagome rushed to say.

Kaede put her hand on Kagome's forehead and gasped.

"Gome, ye are burning up!"

"It's just a little fever, no big deal," Kagome said.

"Nonsense. Not only are you injured, but I'm willing to be that prior to the injury you were coming down with illness. Ye are working too hard."

Kagome sighed.

Kaede forced some kind of liquid down Kagome's throat.

"Remember now. Come back in an hour. And I want ye in bed resting until ye are all better, fever included."

Kagome nodded and limped horribly towards the door.

Kagome heard a familiar voice heading their way.

"Kaede, Rin feels ill and she told me she needs…"

The voice stopped as it came into the doorway.

There was InuYasha, looking curiously from Kagome to Kaede, and then down to Kagome's injured ankle, some of which the black and blue was showing from a spot that wasn't bandaged.

He looked at her for a second as if he were angry before he looked over at Kaede.

"Is it bad?" he asked.

"I'm just fine," Kagome replied as she tried to get past him.

"It will heal, but it does not look pretty at all," Kaede told him.

"I told you to stay off of it, but you were too stubborn to listen," InuYasha said.

Kagome rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry Mr. Prince, but I do not have the opulence to lounge around. I have to work."

InuYasha let out an annoyed sigh.

"What kind of place do you think we're running here? Nobody would hold it against you, especially if you're injured."

"I do not need pity," Kagome to him.

"Damn. I'm not pitying you, I'm trying to help you."

"I am not in need of your help," Kagome injected.

"Your ankle says otherwise," InuYasha growled.

Kagome was walking away when her ankle gave out and she started to fall back.

He caught her quickly and picked her up.

Kaede, who'd been watching the verbal exchange with varying degrees of interest, finally spoke.

"Would ye please remind her to be back within an hour?" Kaede spoke.

InuYasha nodded as he took off toward the hall.

He didn't know exactly where her room was.

It was luck that made him bump into Sango, who looked surprised that he had Kagome, scared that she was barely conscious, and amused that the woman was in his arms.

She directed him to the room where he laid Kagome down.

Sango hurried off to get something cool and wet for Kagome's head.

She hated to ask the prince to watch over her, but she had no other choice as she hurried away.

"Maybe he's more of a gentleman than we originally thought…" Sango mumbled as she hurried away.

"Please stop fussing over me," Kagome told Sango as she walked almost effortlessly back to their room.

An hour later and Kagome ended back up at Kaede's room so that she could get the second application done on her ankle.

After that, Kaede ordered her to sit around there for thirty minutes until she was satisfied that Kagome's ankle was only a little pink and almost back to it's normal size.

Kagome wasn't happy that she had to be carried back to her room the first time by InuYasha or that he saw her laying in her bed sick and weak.

When she woke up and saw him staring at her, she slapped him inadvertently, but after she realized who he was, she had to admit to herself that she didn't feel guilty.

It was a little unnerving, remembering being in his arms, how good it felt, and then waking up to see him looking at her.

It felt a little too…nice.

After finally assuring him that he wasn't needed and that she knew that chivalry wasn't dead, he left and Kagome let out a big sigh of relief.

Sango told her she was stupid for having him leave since she had to go back to Kaede's, but Kagome told Sango that she'd die of embarrassment if he had to cart her in his arms one more time.

Sango didn't look too pleased, but Kagome ignored the looks Sango shot her way and continued on down the hall as the memory faded.

Reaching the room, Kagome sat down on the bed and laid back, letting Sango have the satisfaction of knowing that she'd rest.

Kagome didn't know exactly how this happened to her ankle and she was puzzled.

She didn't get hurt easily and even if she wasn't paying attention, she was sure that she wouldn't be careless enough to bump into someone, especially InuYasha.

She didn't have time to give it too much thought, though, since her eyes drifted closed and she fell asleep.

Sango came back into the room, satisfied to see Kagome sleeping, knowing that unless she sleepwalked, she'd been down for a while.

She left the room, closing the door behind her.

Kagome turned over in her sleep.

When Kagome woke up, she saw Sango sitting there on the edge of her bed, eyeing her ankle before smiling slightly.

"There you go. You're all better," Sango said as Kagome sat up and looked at her ankle.

"Wow. Kaede seems to be a true miracle worker. She is surely talented," Kagome said with a slight yawn.

"So how about it?" Sango asked.

"So how about what?" Kagome asked, confused.

"How do you feel?"

"Oh," Kagome said. "I feel better. See, I told you not to worry."

Sango rolled her eyes.

"If I hadn't worried you over to Kaede, you wouldn't be better now," Sango told her.

"Gee, somebody has an ego."

"No I don't. I just know when I'm right."

"Sure," Kagome said.

"Don't get sarcastic with me!" Sango said as she waved her fist.

"You're not going to hit me," Kagome said. "I just got over an injury, and besides, you hit like a girl."

"I don't, but even if that was true, the fact remains that I am a girl!"

Kagome laughed at that and stood up.

"Well, Ms. Girl, I'm tired of being cooped up in one room. I think I shall go see what's going on out there."

"Nothing, just the usual. Boring this, boring that."

"Come now. Surely something interesting is occurring. After all, the king's returned."

"And since his return, nothing interesting has happened," Sango told her.

"So you say. Something out of the ordinary must have occurred."

"Well now that you mention it," Sango said. "Naraku did seem to be sweating in the king's presence."

Kagome looked a bit amused.

"See, something interesting is happening."

Sango sighed.

A knock on the door drew their attention.

Kagome opened the door and saw a maid step inside.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but the king and the rest of the royal family has requested your presence in the throne room at once."

Kagome gasped, sending a horrified glance over at Sango before nodding to the maid.

"I'll be there at once," Kagome said in a slightly shaky voice.

Sango sighed.

"I guess we've been found out," Kagome said faintly as the woman left the room, leaving them alone.

"We can't be sure of that," Sango said.

"But it sounds as if there is trouble on the horizon. Why else would they want to see me?" Kagome asked.

Sango shrugged helplessly.

"I'll go with you," Sango told her. "After all, we're in this together."

"Fine," Kagome said. "Let's go."

They made their way to the throne room as quickly as possible.

Going inside, Sango stayed beside the door as Kagome approached the king.

He was sitting on his lavished throne, Sesshomaru on his right side and InuYasha on his left with Rin beside Sesshomaru and Miroku standing next to InuYasha.

Kagome came to a stop before them and bowed respectfully, knowing the proper honor to show a king.

When she looked up, she saw him staring at her.

"Your majesty, you summoned me here?"

"Yes, I have," he told her in a calm voice.

"What is it that you needed from a lowly servant such as I?"

"I've heard about what you've been up to," he told her.

Kagome sighed sadly, not sure what would happen next.

She was careful to avoid eye contact.

"You have?" she asked. "I am sorry my king. I know it was a horrible thing to do."

The king suddenly laughed and Kagome looked at him, confused.

"What are you talking about? Competing in that contest and being named the fairest of them all is not a bad thing, in fact, I think it is good."

"What?" Kagome asked, looking back at Sango and then at the king once again.

"You are the young woman who won the contest, correct?"

Kagome nodded.

"Yes, I am the one."

"I called for your presence here to congratulate you, and to offer you yet another prize from this contest."

"You have?" Kagome asked. "What is it, my king?"

"I know you are busy with work here at the castle, and for that I am grateful, but I ask for you to leave these duties behind to take on a more important one."

"Sir?" she said, a quizzical look on her face.

"Ms. Gome. There are few I know of who work so hard and yet maintain a gracefulness about them. You won that contest and I heard that the kingdom had a satisfying reaction to you. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you would take that to another level and represent my kingdom, a spokesperson for all the women, young and old."


	19. Better or Worse

Can I Keep You: Better or Worse

Chapter 19

Better or Worse

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Okay, I'm sooooo sorry for the delay! I had computer problems again, but I'm finally able to update! Thanks for reading and thanks for your reviews! I'm still having computer problems, so I updating will be difficult, but I WILL update, so please wait for me! Well, here's the story!

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"Is this really the right thing to do?" Sango asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"It has to be," Kagome said. "I mean, I see not what else I could have said other than an agreeing response."

There Kagome had been, standing in front of the king, sure she'd been caught on her mission, when he suddenly asked her to be a spokesperson for the women of the kingdom.

She was caught off guard, surprised, and shocked.

But the way he was looking at her, the way they were all looking at her as if it was somehow in her best interests to do so, as if they expected for her to say yes, made her agree to do it.

It had to be the right thing to do because Kagome now realized that there wasn't really any getting out of it now.

Sango had been just as surprised and even more surprised when Kagome had requested that Sango reap the same benefits that she did.

The king, though he looked surprised and a little curious, agreed quickly enough.

Since then, Kagome and Sango had left their room in the servants' quarters and they were now heading to their new one.

"It's just this way," Miru said as she led them there.

"Wait. This is a hall away from you-know-who's."

"You-know-who is the point because the other you-know-who will be trying to sneak off to see the other you-know-who," Miru whispered.

"Oh!" Kagome said as if she'd just realized something important, and she had.

What they were talking about was the fact that Kagome's room was only a hall away from InuYasha's room.

And that was good considering the fact that Kikyo might try to sneak off to see InuYasha.

"Here we are," Miru said as she stopped just a little down the hallway, in front of the door.

She opened the door and Kagome gasped.

"My lady, this is your room," Miru told her.

Kagome was shocked. It was far better than her room in the servants' quarters.

Of course her room back home was better, but she would definitely feel more comfortable in this room than the servant one.

"What about me?" Sango asked.

"Yes, of course. That door there leads to it, but since your rooms are conjoined, that door over in Ms. Gome's room also leads to it."

Kagome went inside and Sango followed as Miru closed the door behind them.

Once Kagome was sure she could speak freely, she did.

"Miru, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything princess, just say it."

"It seems not likely that I shall be able to collect the mail, so I ask of you to do it for me. Deliver any mail from my parents to me secretly and it will be in all of our best interests."

"Of course," Miru said. "I shall take your place with that duty. You just stay focused on the task at hand. This boost may be a blessing in disguise. What shall come of it, I wonder…"

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"It's nothing my lady, nothing."

Kagome shrugged.

Something was going on in Miru's head, she was sure of that, but she wasn't exactly sure what it was.

"If you so request me, they shall assign me as your attendant. Whatever you wish, I will be under duty to fulfill."

Kagome didn't need to think about it to answer.

"Of course. That would definitely be for the best," Kagome said.

Sango had been checking out both of the rooms and had now sat down on Kagome's huge bed.

"Kagome. Luxury or no luxury?" Sango asked.

"Circumstances depend."

"Covert operation."

"No luxury in this case."

"What if we can have even easier access to the person we're investigating. I mean, being important here, you'll be able to see him more often, to talk to him, and to sneak around without looking suspicious."

"I know this," Kagome said. "Still, it worries me. I find it not doubtful that this may prove harder than thought."

"You mean hoped, right?" Sango said.

"If you must see it as that, then yes, hoped," Kagome answered.

Sango quieted.

"Miru. Have you any idea how long Kikyo plans to stay?" Kagome asked.

Miru shook her head.

"She was originally only supposed to stay for but a week, but now it seems that her stay has been expanded without objection from the higher people."

"I see," Kagome said. "I know what it is that she's up to…"

Sango nodded.

"Not seeing the competition, aka the fiancée, around, she plans to make her move like a hawk in one foul swoop, or in her case, many swoops of desperation," Sango clarified.

Miru simply nodded.

Something about this just didn't sit quite right with Kagome. Would this new plan of action work? Or were they making a mistake?

Still, she had to at least try.

Sango looked over at Kagome and saw the thoughtful expression on her face.

"You know, the next time Kikyo thinks it nice to press against him, you now have license to interrupt without looking utterly ridiculous."

Kagome sighed and sat down on the bed.

Miru went over to the wardrobe and pulled out a beautiful dress.

"They prepared these for you, knowing that you would be in need of a nice wardrobe," Miru began. "Here Princess, wear this to dinner tonight. I'm sure that you will make quite the impression."

Miru then hurried to Sango's room and showed her a fitting dress.

After that, she left the room, having business to tend to.

Sango rushed over to her own room, leaving Kagome alone in her own. She slowly let her gaze roam across the room before standing up and going over to the closest window.

Opening the curtains, Kagome looked outside, peering across the lands.

The western kingdom truly was beautiful, a real sight to behold, but sometimes she did long for her eastern home.

However, she found that if circumstances had been different, she really could have accepted the western lands as her dwelling.

Remaining in the shadows for so many years, she was sure that no nobles would recognize her. Sure, she had made an appearance at her birthday parties, but it was brief and she could hardly be seen from where she stood.

For this, she was thankful, for she may still have a chance of not being discovered.

She could hear Sango rummaging around in her room and wondered what she was doing since she was making so much noise.

"What is your opinion about this dress?" Sango asked as she came back into the room, holding the dress up in front of her.

Kagome looked over at her, looking at the dress for a few seconds.

"It's lovely. You should wear it in attendance tonight."

Sango nodded swiftly and disappeared again. Kagome looked back out the window.

The weather was nice. The sun was shining, the sky was a beautiful blue hue, the clouds were glorious, and the breeze was gentle.

A knock at her door drew Kagome out of her comfortable gaze and brought her attention to the noise.

"You may enter," she said as she turned around to face whoever had come.

A young man, a messenger of the king, came inside.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but the king says as follows: 'You are now part of our royal society, and as such, you are required to function with it when invited. It is obligatory that you attend the activities occurring at present.'"

Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"Activities occurring? What activity?"

The young man cleared his throat before answering.

"The young master, prince InuYasha, is going horseback riding, and you are to join him."

Kagome coughed into her hand slightly.

"And who, if I may ask, is to be coming with us?"

"Lady Kikyo is to be there and the young princess, Rin."

Kagome gave a sigh of relief. At least somebody would be there. She felt a little awkward around him nowadays, even though she always had a bit before.

But she definitely couldn't pass this up since Kikyo was going, since she wanted her to stay far away from InuYasha.

Good thing that learning how to ride horses was something that her father had made sure to be installed into her at an early age.

She knew she could show Kikyo up any day, and today just might be the day.

"Thank you very much for alerting me to this news," she told him. "Is that all?"

He nodded.

"I shall take my leave, then," he said before bowing quickly and hurrying from the room.

Kagome turned her attention back to the world outside of the window briefly before closing the curtains, locking the door, and going over to the wardrobe to pick out a lovely dress.

She got ready to go and told Sango where she was going and why before leaving her friend to her own business.

Kagome took one last look in the mirror before leaving, finding herself looking like a princess yet again, but still seeing that scruffy little kid inside.

The dress was pretty, being a soft, warm yellow color. She pulled her hair back with a yellow ribbon, going for a simple, yet elegant demeanor.

As she walked toward her destination and caught sight of Kikyo, she found that she was dressed pretty flamboyantly.

Kagome rolled her eyes, thinking that if you had to overdo it, then you were obviously trying to shadow some kind of drawback.

She followed Kikyo to the stables where InuYasha and Rin awaited their arrival.

"I'm here, the agonizing wait is over!" Kikyo said as she hurried over to InuYasha and tried to throw herself at him.

Rin, the smart girl, stepped in the way and made sure that Kikyo stepped back.

Kagome made a mental note to do something good for Rin if she could.

Rin had a look of annoyance on her face, but when she saw Kagome, her face lit up.

"Gome! How nice to see you. It is pleasant that you could come!"

Kagome stopped in front of Rin and smiled at her.

"I am happy that you would have me here, young princess," Kagome said, pleased with the girl completely.

She looked over at InuYasha and lowered her head out of required respect.

He had been looking at her with a look of interest on his face and ignoring Kikyo's advances completely.

Kagome was happy to see that she wasn't the only person who thought that Kikyo was nothing but an utter eyesore.

Rin motioned for them to follow as she led them towards the horses.

InuYasha was mounted onto his white horse in no time and Rin was on her horse as well.

"You two may choose your horses," Rin said. "I'm afraid that only two are available today due to the fact that the others are not here. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

One of the two horses was brown and looked like it was a little sick. The other one was so old that it looked like it couldn't even stand up with a feather on its back let alone a person.

"Um…" Kagome spoke softly. "This poor one looks a bit under the weather."

InuYasha looked over at it and nodded.

"Oh. Too bad…" Rin said. "Now we're short one horse since Cocoa is sick. There really shouldn't be such royal mess-ups."

InuYasha sighed.

"The only one left is Shadow, but he never lets anybody ride him. The only one he ever liked was…my mother…" InuYasha said in a strange tone.

Kagome looked up at him and saw the look on his face and she couldn't help but feel a bit sad.

"Well I refuse to ride such a hag of a horse. One as feeble as that is unworthy!"

Kagome and Rin both looked at Kikyo with a disgusted look.

Rin looked over at Kagome and saw the look she was sending Kikyo.

Kagome, noticing Rin's observation, looked off to the side.

"Really Kikyo, Shadow is not an agreeable mount," Rin insisted.

Kikyo scoffed.

"This one shall be agreeable with me, it better be," she said cockily.

Kagome rolled her eyes.

Kikyo approached the horse and tried to get on it. The horse threw her back and started acting wildly.

Kikyo looked absolutely terrified.

If it weren't for the fact that she was in actual danger, Kagome and Rin would've been enjoying the affair very much.

Rin gasped.

InuYasha, being the natural candidate for the position of hero, had started over there when somebody stepped in the way.

Kagome approached the horse calmly and rolled her eyes at Kikyo, who was frozen stiff.

"Be careful!" Rin and InuYasha called out at the same time.

Kagome raised her hand slowly towards the horse, not wanting to alarm it any more than it already was.

The horse seemed to calm down a bit; at least enough for the princess to run her hand gently down the horse's mane.

The alarmed animal instantly calmed down and leaned in to her touch.

With the horse pacified, Kikyo jumped up and ran behind InuYasha, causing Kagome to narrow her eyes at the nearness.

"Well, it looks as if Lady Gome just won Shadow over. Your only option now is to ride Patch," InuYasha said.

Kikyo looked over at the old horse with a look of disdain on her face.

Kagome mounted Shadow as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Kikyo rolled her eyes and hopped on top of Patch, right before her weight made the poor horse fall to the ground.

Kagome had to try hard to keep from laughing, but she knew that once she saw Sango, she would no longer be able to hold it in.

Since Shadow disliked Kikyo and neither Kagome nor Rin wanted her near InuYasha, Rin shared her horse with the rude guest.

Kagome rode along, enjoying the scenery so much that she didn't notice it when InuYasha pulled up next to her and matched his pace with hers.

But Kikyo did notice, and she wasn't too happy about it at all.

Kagome was shocked to see InuYasha beside her, but kept her composure so that she didn't fall off of the horse from the surprise.

"My Prince," Kagome said, trying to remain calm. "What brings you to the side of one such as me?"

"Despite what's happened between us…you are our companion on this damn…excursion, so it is my duty to…socialize."

Kagome coughed into her hand.

Getting herself under control, Kagome looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Duty? Then by all means, don't let me burden you," she said coldly.

InuYasha apparently realized what he'd said wrong since he hurried to correct himself.

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" he said.

Kagome didn't look back as she rode ahead of him. He caught up.

"Really? Well it sure did sound as if you said what you meant…"

"I'm only saying that…damn…"

Rin looked on in amusement and was even more amused when she heard Kikyo growling behind her.

'I wonder…' Rin thought, then shook her head at the idea.

The rest of the experience was characterized by silence…and Kikyo's frequent complaints.

Rin had never liked Kikyo, not even from the first moment she'd laid eyes on her. It was just something about her that you could see that made her unappealing.

But there was something about this Gome girl. She was different, special somehow. Mere hired help had made an impression on her somehow, and had apparently even made an impression on her father since he appointed her to such a position.

She definitely liked her more than she did Kikyo.

When she got married, she wanted it to be out of love, not arrangement. Her brother was betrothed to be wed. She'd never met the woman, but she'd heard how the occasion had gone.

But that had been years ago, and both of them had probably changed a lot since then.

When they met again, she wondered, would they get along any better than before?

Her brother Sesshomaru, however, loved the woman he was going to marry. Sure, he was a little cold at times and never really enthusiastic, but she could tell how he felt and she wondered if Kagura would be able to open him up a bit more.

She sighed. The thought of true love was whimsical to her, like a pleasant dream. She was much too young for marriage, but she knew that when the time was right, it would happen.

Wondering if Kikyo would ever stop complaining, Rin rolled her eyes.

It happened so fast. She had no idea as to what Kikyo did, but the next thing she knew, the horse had booted her off of its back, and Kikyo was left laying on the ground, moaning and groaning.

She stifled the urge to laugh, but amusement still lit her dark eyes as she left Kikyo behind. 


	20. Sango's Motives

Can I Keep You: Sango's Motives

Chapter 20

Sango's Motives

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I am sooooo sorry that it took me so long to update. But this computer is STILL giving me trouble. This story is almost over, I'm sad to say, so please wait for the last few chapters. As a reward for your patience I AM UPDATING TWO CHAPTERS TODAY. SO PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THERE'S ANOTHER ONE UPDATED. Well, here it is.

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Sango moved from her bed to the window, letting out a soft sigh before closing the curtains.

She'd accompanied Kagome to the western lands to help her achieve her goal, but there was more to it, something that even Kagome didn't know.

An occurrence long ago fueled her current desire. Back home, she was Sango, niece of the king, cousin of the princess. She was royalty.

But here…In this place she had been Gogo, hired help. And even now she was still not royalty, just steps up the ladder, but still down from her true self.

Would her plan go smoother if she were her true self? Maybe, but she couldn't do that. She was here on a mission with Kagome and she couldn't risk compromising the plans.

Her desires would have to be put on hold since Kagome's had to take first priority.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and brought her to her feet, to the door.

Opening it, she saw a messenger from the king.

"May I help you?" Sango asked.

"The king sent me here to inform you that you are expected to join master Miroku for afternoon coffee in the garden."

Sango nodded in acknowledgement before dismissing the messenger.

Kagome was still gone and now she had somewhere she had to go, too.

And she had to be there with…Miroku.

She opened the wardrobe and surveyed the items in front of her.

Choosing a light pink dress, not too fancy, but not plain, she started getting ready.

She had been scrubbing floors the day before, but now she was going to drink coffee with Miroku, cousin of the young prince.

But he didn't know that he'd be dealing with Sango, the cousin of the princess of the eastern lands. And he couldn't find this out, either, since he'd naturally run back to his cousin and tell him all of the details of the plans.

She was high class, high stature, but he couldn't know this because she would never betray Kagome's trust and jeopardize the mission.

Kagome was her cousin and her best friend and she didn't go back on her word. She kept her promises. Miroku had once made a promise. Did he keep his?

Sango was dressed, but was she really ready for this? She was nervous. It didn't matter if she was royalty, hired help, or anything in between. No matter what she was, she'd still be nervous right now.

Miroku did something strange to her. He made her heart beat faster and slower at the same time. One look from him, even if it did seem a little perverted, made her want to fly.

Sango knew that Miroku was a lecher. How could she not? From what she'd seen, he'd flirt with almost any girl who crossed his path unless she wasn't attractive at all.

Was he loyal to women once tied down in a relationship? This she didn't know, but she found herself wondering why she was even asking herself this. After all, he wasn't involved with her. Why was she even thinking about how he would be if he were involved with somebody, let alone her, and why was she even thinking about him possibly being involved with her?

Sango shook her head out of confusion and frustration and closed the door behind her, hurrying off to the garden.

She walked a bit slower. After all, she didn't want to get there quickly, making him think that she was anxious to see him.

But then again…

Sango sped up a bit. After all, she didn't want to get there late and make him think that she didn't care for the event at all.

She shook her head again and began to walk at a normal pace. That way she would get there too quickly, or too late. She'd be right on time. She was a punctual person, really.

Two men opened the doors to the garden for her and she stepped out into the open. The afternoon sun shone from above, warming her soft skin.

She brought a hand up to her eyes to shield them from the bright light and saw Miroku sitting at a lovely little table nearby.

He spotted her and stood up quickly, bowing as she reached him.

"My lady," he said, gently grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on it.

She blushed, but he didn't see it as he pulled out her chair for her. Sango sat down and he pushed it forward for her before taking his seat once again.

She had no idea that he was such a gentleman, but that was to be expected, wasn't it?

Coffee, sugar, and creamer were brought to them and even a tray of delicious looking bit sized cakes. Sango began to feel more at home, the luxury of it reminding her of her home in the east.

This was her element and she felt that she could ride with this.

Miroku watched closely as Sango grabbed the spoon and put some sugar in her cup before adding a little creamer and then pouring in some coffee.

She stirred the coffee briefly and then brought the cup to her lips.

Her lips, he couldn't help but notice, were very nice. Where had such a beautiful woman been hiding her whole life?

Even though he'd previously seen her wearing normal clothing for peasants, he still sensed something more from her.

"Thank you for meeting me here today Gogo," he began.

'Gogo?' she flinched in thought. 'I know that Kagome thought of it spur of the moment, but she could've come up with something better….'

"When the king suggested that we get to know you and lady Gome better, I insisted on spending some time with you," he finished.

"Thank you for having me," Sango said with ease. "It is not every day that a lowly peasant like me can mingle with one such as yourself."

Miroku waved a hand at her.

"Nonsense. InuYasha and I interact with peasants regularly. After all, no matter what class we are, we are all still people in the end. And you are more than a peasant now, anyway, am I right?"

"I didn't mean that you didn't talk to peasants, I just meant that it's not every day that a peasant gets this pleasant opportunity," Sango explained.

Miroku picked up one of the tiny cakes and placed it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing before speaking again.

"You must not be from the western lands if you know not of our royalty's ways," he commented.

Sango looked down at her coffee. She didn't really know what to say to that. She wasn't from the western lands, but where was she supposed to say she was from? She had to think fast. Kagome would be able to come up with an answer.

"No, I'm not from the western lands. I'm from the country, your average girl."

Miroku raised an eyebrow.

"Really? For some reason I just can't see you living in a secluded area milking a cow."

Sango took a sip of her coffee to buy herself some time.

"I guess that such a life just never suited me. That's why I'm here. I'm ready to spread my wings."

Miroku nodded, but still watched her closely.

Now she knew how a goldfish felt, swimming along in its little bowl while being closely observed by somebody.

She couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking as he looked at her like he did.

Sango had to talk to Kagome and discuss this with her. They had to come up with answers for these type of questions together.

Sango had to get the attention off of herself. She had to change the subject.

"So master Miroku, I've heard that you are quite popular with the ladies."

Miroku didn't see this coming. He almost choked on his coffee.

"It is true, isn't it?" Sango asked.

"It would depend on what you call 'popular'," he answered.

"Maybe it's not popularity. Maybe it's just that you really like women and you've gathered a reputation."

He choked again.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" she asked.

Miroku waved his hand and shook his head.

"No, no. It's just that I didn't expect for you to be so straightforward. No woman's ever confronted me like that. You just surprised me, that's all."

"My apologies. I've surprised myself. I don't normally come out and say things like that. Truth be told, I'm not one to say such."

Miroku laughed.

"No, don't apologize. You're honesty is quite refreshing. I'd prefer for you to voice your opinions. "

Sango picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth before folding it neatly and standing up.

"I'm sorry master Miroku. Please excuse me. I shouldn't have acted in such a way. It is not my right to pry."

She turned and began to walk away.

Miroku hurried to stand and placed a hand on her arm.

"No, please don't go. I don't want the refreshments to go to waste. And not only that, I'm enjoying your company. I don't mind your questions. I'll answer what you want."

Sango stopped and looked at him before turning around.

'No!' Sango thought. 'I really wanted to remove myself from this situation. I wish to speak this over with Kagome. I was almost able to leave…but then again, maybe this has provided me with opportunity…'

Sango sighed. She'd purposely said what she'd said so that she could leave, but Miroku had ruined her plans. There was nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide. She might as well get this over with and endure it.

As she was returning to the table, she somehow tripped and fell to the ground, hitting her knee hard.

She couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped her as her knee made contact with the ground or the look of surprise on her face as Miroku rushed to her side.

"Lady Gogo, are you injured?" he asked as he leaned down toward her.

She looked up at him and looked down at her knee, unable to ignore the pain she was feeling.

She hadn't expected him put his arms around her the way he did. She hadn't expected him to gently pick her up.

He sat her back in her chair before pulling his chair in front of her and lifting her leg gently up to his lap.

Her knee hurt, that was for sure. This injury brought a memory back to her, one that she'd never forgotten, one that she remembered as if it had happened yesterday.

That was the day she'd met him, wasn't it? That was the day that her heart had first soared. That was the day she'd fallen in love with Miroku.

As she looked into his eyes, it all came rushing back to her, the events of that night. It was five years ago. Sango had been about thirteen at the time.

Her uncle had thrown a party in celebration of Inuyasha visiting, which had been the second and last time he'd visited.

Miroku had come along. Sango hadn't really paid much attention to him the whole day, having not been in the same room with him for more than a couple of minutes.

She was shy, preferring to stand back and watch others enjoy themselves at occasions such as this. She stood in a corner watching all of the happy couples dancing.

Kagome and Inuyasha, she noticed, were standing on opposite sides of the room, avoiding each other as much as they could.

She rolled her eyes. A nearby couple dancing past her, looking happy and excited. She sighed. It looked fun, but she was scared to go out there.

No guy had even asked her to dance, but she probably would've declined an offer, anyway. She noticed Miroku standing about halfway across the room.

As she took her eyes off of him, she couldn't stop herself from wondering what this person was like. As she became lost in her own thoughts, somebody accidentally bumped in to her, knocking her over and making her scrape her knee on the floor.

She couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped her.

She didn't know he'd seen her. She didn't know why he'd come to help her. She didn't know how Miroku had reached her side so quickly, but he had.

"Lady Sango, are you injured?" he asked as he leaned down toward her.

She looked up at him and looked down at her knee, unable to ignore the pain she was feeling.

She hadn't expected him put his arms around her the way he did. She hadn't expected him to gently pick her up.

He sat her in a nearby chair before pulling another chair in front of her, sitting in it and lifting her leg gently up to his lap.

Her knee hurt, that was for sure, but as she looked into his eyes, her pain was forgotten for a single moment.

"Do you mind?" he asked, looking at her knee that was hidden beneath the dress.

She blushed slightly before nodding. He pushed the dress up just enough to see her left knee, which had been scraped during the fall.

Miroku took a handkerchief out of his pocket and grabbed the pitcher of water that was sitting on the table. After getting the cloth wet, he gently cleaned her wound, attempting to make the event as painless as possible.

It hurt, sure, but she endured it. She could tell that he was doing his best not to hurt her, after all.

He had one hand resting on the back of her leg while the other was cleaning it. That hand was warm, soothing against her skin. She blushed again.

When he was done cleaning it, he sat the handkerchief down on the table and tore off a strip of his white shirt.

"You're ruining your shirt," she told him as she tried to stop him. "Don't…"

"You're hurt. I have to cover it up. Don't worry about the shirt, I have more."

She looked down at her hands resting in her lap before looking back up at him. He began tying the cloth around her leg, making it tight, but not too tight.

When he was done, he looked into her eyes, his hand not yet moving from her leg.

"Does it feel better now?" he asked her gently.

"Much better. Thank you," she whispered, surprised that she couldn't speak any louder.

He helped her stand up and she looked down in surprise. She couldn't feel any pain at all. She tried walking and felt normal.

"Thanks again," she said as she smiled at him.

He returned her smile.

"If you'd really like to thank me," he began, "then maybe you'd do me the favor of dancing with me?"

She was surprised that he'd asked her to dance, a little scared, and yet happy. She nodded before letting him take her hand and lead her amongst the dancing couples.

She felt as if she were floating as she moved across the floor with him, dancing gracefully.

"It's not hurting, is it? If it is, we can stop dancing."

She shook her head.

"It feels great, really. I don't know what I'll do without you the next time it gets hurt."

He laughed at that.

"I may be leaving here soon, but as long as you need me, I'll do what I can for you. I'll protect the woman who may one day bear my children."

The last part had certainly caught her off guard. She was only thirteen. The last thing on her mind was children! Yet the overall speech had left quite an impression on her heart.

He'd promised to help her as long as she needed him, to protect her. He'd even, in a way, promised to marry her…

She hadn't forgotten what he'd said that night. As she looked into his eyes right now, as he looked at her right leg this time, she knew that she was still in love with him, that she'd never stopped loving him.

There were no cuts or scrapes. It might bruise, but not just yet.

"It looks to be okay, but I believe it will bruise later."

"I'll survive," she said as she ignored the pain.

He looked at her, yet not really at her.

It was as if his mind was somewhere else for a moment before he shook his head, confused, and finally gave up on whatever it was he'd been thinking about.

"I think that maybe it is time I return to my room," she spoke softly.

He looked into her eyes, nodding his head quickly.

He helped her stand up and helped her back into the castle.

"I can handle it from here," she told him suddenly.

He raised his eyebrows.

"I don't think that you are in any condition to make this trip alone," he commented.

"You've helped me enough already," she told him as she stood up straight. "I don't want to burden you anymore than I already have. Thank you for your help and for the coffee."  
She whimpered from the pain and fell back, only to be caught by a pair of strong, secure arms that definitely belonged to Miroku.

"Please, let me help you," he said before picking her up, lifting her into his arms. She struggled at first, but then she finally relaxed against his chest.

She was skinny, sure, but she was definitely lighter than she looked. As he walked down the hallway that led to her room, he looked down at her.

Her face was red, flushed, and she was looking at the wall. Sure, she'd blushed before when he'd put his moves on her.

He was a flirt, he had to admit. But the way she looked then compared to the look on her face now…Well, there was a difference.

With her head against his chest, she could hear the strong beat of his heart. She looked up at him only to find him looking down at her. She turned redder and looked away again.

He smiled. She was different, that was for sure. The first time he'd seen her, he'd known there was something about her that drew him in.

Reaching her door, he opened it and carried her over to the bed before taking off her shoes for her.

"Thank you," she said as she glanced at him. "I'm feeling better now. You don't need to worry."

He nodded, walking towards the exit, yet lingering in the doorway.

"You know, if you need me I'm here for you."

With that said, he left the room.

He'd made a similar promise long ago, hadn't he? Her heart was beating erratically in her chest and she felt as if she might faint, yet it was one of the best feelings she'd ever experienced.

Miroku stood outside of her door. For a moment, he'd begun to remember a similar situation. There was a girl, Sango from the eastern lands, who he'd helped, too.

He faintly remembered making a promise.. He let the image of the girl in his mind fade away as he thought about Gogo.

This woman was interesting, more interesting than any woman he'd encountered before.

He certainly hoped that he would see much more of her, so much more.


	21. Doubt

Can I Keep You: Doubt

Chapter 21

Doubt

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THIS IS THE SECOND CHAPTER I UPDATED TODAY, SO IF THIS IS THE FIRST ONE YOU'RE READING, THEN PLEASE GO BACK AND READ THE ONE BEFORE THIS CHAPTER!

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"Seriously?!" Sango said, a look of amusement on her beautiful face. "Kikyo crushed that poor horse under her weight?!"

Kagome nodded.

"And she got thrown off another horse? You had an interesting day, too, then."

Kagome raised an eyebrow and sat up a bit, leaning on her elbows.

They were in Sango's room laying on Sango's bed talking about the day's events.

"Are you sure your knee is okay?" Kagome asked.

Sango nodded.

"I've felt similar pain before," she said quietly. "I can endure this."

Kagome smiled slightly. She knew about Sango's feelings for Miroku, of course. Sango had tried to deny it so many times, but Kagome still knew. Since she knew her cousin so well, it was pretty obvious.

Sango had come with Kagome to help her, sure, but Kagome had always known Sango's other reason, the one she'd never mentioned but never really needed to.

Sango was also there with her to see Miroku. Her friend had wanted to see Miroku for so long and now was her chance.

Rumors about Miroku had also reached their ears in the eastern lands and Sango was anxious to see what he was like.

Apparently the fact that Miroku was a big flirt and a total lecher at times did nothing to diminish her love.

Kagome swept a few stray strands of hair back behind Sango's ear and laid back on the bed again before sighing.

"I think I shall go to the library," Kagome said as she sat right back up. "I haven't been able to get near as much reading done as I've wanted to. Do you wish to come?"

Sango shook her head.

"You go ahead," she told her as she looked toward the open window. "I'm tired. I desire to stay here and rest."

Kagome nodded before leaving the room. The look on Sango's face was one she'd seen many times before. It was the look she always had when she was thinking about Miroku.

Kagome entered the library and smiled at the many books that awaited her. She'd always enjoyed reading. She'd done it in her spare time when she wasn't practicing horseback riding or archery or the things that her parents wanted her to do.

She'd led a rather busy life so far, but she knew that it would get even busier in the future since it sure was pretty busy right now!

She selected a book off of a shelf and made her way over to a table. What she didn't notice, however, was the silver haired prince who was sitting at the table across from hers.

He looked at her over the top of his glasses and cleared his throat.

She looked up from her book and noticed him there. She groaned.

"Prince InuYasha," she said as she closed her book. "You…wear glasses?"

He snorted before yanking them off his face. "Much to my dislike, but yes," he admitted.

Kagome tried to stop herself, she did her best to, in fact, yet she still ended up giggling. And then that little giggle turned into quite an amused laugh.

"You…" InuYasha said incredulously. "You're laughing at me?!"

Kagome tried to calm herself down, but as soon as she saw the look on his face, she laughed harder.

She finally calmed herself down and cleared her throat.

"Don't fret," she said as she picked up her own glasses. "I do, too, and I must say that I dislike them, as well."

He lifted an eyebrow, making an amused face.

"You know, nobody outside of my family has ever had the nerve to laugh at me before."

"I apologize," she said as she looked back down at her book.

"But I kind of like it," he finished. She looked back up at him and looked away quickly. "So what are you reading?"

She held up the book and he saw that it was about archery and swordsmanship.

"So I can beat you up even better the next time we face off," she told him as she continued to read.

"Yeah right!" he said with a scoff. "As if you could."

"Are you mocking me?!"

'Calm down Kagome,' she thought to herself. 'You must keep your cool.'

"No woman can get the better of me," he said confidently as he put his glasses back on.

Kagome stood up and went over to his table, sitting on the edge of it and looking down at him.

"I'm sorry sir, but if my memory serves me right, I already have," she said with a smirk.

He narrowed his eyes before laughing it off.

"You find it funny? What would you do if the young ladies who wrote you all of those love letters, which I always delivered to your room, found out that you were bested by a female such as myself?"

"You know, I could have you put in jail for speaking to me like you do."

"But you won't," she said confidently. "You enjoy the fact that I have the courage to speak as such. Do you deny that?"

He remained silent.

There certainly was truth behind that statement of hers. She was different, so different from anybody he'd ever met.

As much as he hated to admit it, the first time they fought, she'd gotten the better of him. He'd been trained by the best for such a long time. She was mysterious. Where did she learn all that she knew?

He found himself thinking about her more and more often lately.

'Why am I being like this with him?' she asked herself. 'I shouldn't be chatting with him as such. In fact, in some strange way, I might even be…flirting?'

She shook her head and he watched her with interest.

So what was the prince doing there anyway? She looked down at him only to see that he was reading documents containing the latest complaints of the people of the kingdom.

She raised her eyebrows.

"May I ask why you are reading those?"

"Hmm?" he asked. "Oh, these? I am the prince. As such, it is my responsibility to care about what's going on within the kingdom. Damn, responsibility or not, I actually do want to."

She removed herself from the top of the table and sat down across from him, instead.

'I know not why I am sitting here with him…But I just can't stop myself…'

"It's true that you are going to rule this kingdom and not Sesshomaru, correct?"

He nodded. "I shall. Sesshomaru should be ruling the kingdom since he is the first-born. But Kagura is the only heir to the throne of her kingdom. It is her responsibility to take over and she needs Sesshomaru to be by her side. They will rule together."

"I see," Kagome said as she picked up the glasses he'd taken off again and put them on her own face.

'I'm just way too comfortable around him. I know not why I am acting this way. I detest him, right? I shouldn't be here like this…'

This was what her mind was saying. However, her heart was speaking differently.

And besides, he'd helped her when her ankle was injured. He'd seemed so concerned and he'd really been of assistance.

She sighed. The least she could do was to at least try to be civil where he was concerned…sometimes.

And then a thought crossed her mind, a question that she was dying to ask. Before she could stop and talk herself out of it, she went ahead and said it.

"And you? I heard that you are engaged, correct?"

He sighed in a frustrated way.

"Almost since birth, I have been engaged to the princess of the eastern kingdom."

She frowned and she was growling on the inside at the way he said it.

"You speak as if you really detest her," Kagome commented.

"We never got along. Damn, it was all her fault I was forced to attend fi..fi…finishing school!"

Kagome glared at him but changed her expression as he looked at her.

"And what of her? Surely she did not escape punishment."

"I don't know, I don't care. All I know is that being forced into marriage with somebody you are barely acquainted with sure as hell isn't satisfactory."

"I agree," Kagome said quietly as she brought her hands up underneath her chin. "And what if…what if you were better acquainted with her? What would come of that?"

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, careful not to poke them with his claws.

"I'm not sure," he told her. "But how would you feel if your father insisted upon your marrying somebody before you did get that opportunity?"

Kagome looked away from him and out the window. It had started to rain even though the sky had been so clear earlier.

"I'd….I'd do anything I could to stop it, to remove myself from the situation."

"Desperation?"

She nodded.

"When you put it that way...yes, desperation."

When he put it that way, she realized that what she was doing…it was something desperate. For as long as she could remember, she'd wanted to experience true love.

Based on her previous encounters with InuYasha, she'd doubted that she could ever experience that with him. And with all the nasty rumors she'd heard, she'd become sure of that. After all, she didn't want to be with somebody who would not be faithful and true.

But rumors…Rumors weren't really something good to go one, right? People said all sorts of things that weren't necessarily true, right? So what if…what if she'd misjudged him?

She shook her head. 'I can't start doubting it all now. I can't allow for that to occur…'

But as she looked up at him, the look in his eyes…Those brilliant amber orbs that she'd never really had the opportunity to look into before…

He didn't want to get married to her, that she could see. He felt the same way that she had for so long.

"And what of all of the rumors? They're floating all around town. I've heard many unappealing things about you."

He sighed.

"The occasional rumor may be true, but the majority will be garbage," he told her.

"Oh," she whispered as she looked down at her hands, which were in her lap, and tried to focus on them.

She's spent so long believing all of those rumors. Could she really allow herself to doubt them, now? The things that had reached her ears in the eastern kingdom, they were horrible. She'd been so enraged that she didn't think twice about doing whatever she could to get out of this marriage.

She'd never given him the benefit of the doubt. Innocent until proven guilty, right? She'd never given him that.

She went over to the couch by the window and sat on her knees, watching as the rain rolled down the glass. She opened the window slightly and reached her hand out, letting the cool drops of water hit her skin.

She could feel his eyes on her and for some reason that made her feel strangely happy.

'Why do I feel this way? It's like…The first chance I truly get to exchange words with him…my resolve wavers…'

She sighed.

"Please forgive me for asking you such personal questions," she said as she closed the window. "I know that I have no right. You are the prince, the future ruler of this kingdom, and I am merely hired help."

It was his turn to sigh.

"If I didn't want to tell you what I told you, then I wouldn't have done it. I probably would've told you to go to hell like I do most people."

"Really?" she asked as she looked at him. He didn't look away. "Come to think of it, what happened to that short temper of yours, that fiery attitude?"

"It's on vacation," he joked.

"You seem so different today," she commented.

He shrugged.

"As do you," he told her.

She was getting ready to say something else when the doors opened and Kikyo came rushing in.

"InuYasha!" she said as she hurried over to him and threw her arms around him. "I've been looking everywhere for you! At last, I finally found you!"

'Of course she wouldn't expect the library. I doubt she truly even knows what a library is…' Kagome thought bitterly.

InuYasha freed himself from her chokehold and gathered the things he'd brought with him.

"You're expected to meet with your father at once," she told him as she tried to get her slimy paws on him once again.

He sidestepped her and sighed.

Kagome was strangely amused by this. It seemed that today, he really didn't want her near him. What was wrong with him? He wasn't himself right now. He seemed so down in the dumps…sad…

"It was a pleasure speaking to you, but now I must go," he told her as Kikyo grabbed his arm and led him out of the room.

Before they left, however, Kikyo looked back at her with an of territorial, jealous, and hateful look on her face.

Kagome rolled her eyes as soon as Kikyo left and thought about InuYasha.

He really wasn't himself. He spoke to her in such a civilized way. He wasn't his normal rude self. Against her will, she was worrying about him.

Who knew. Maybe there was a gentleman with manners hidden behind that rude demeanor. She shrugged as she looked at the stray documents he'd left behind in his hurry.

Maybe he really did care about the kingdom. And from the way he talked…maybe those rumors were only rumors. If that were the case, she was more confused than ever.

She shook her head.

She put the stuff he'd left behind back where it was supposed to be. She returned to her room and laid on her bed. It was unusually quiet so she knocked on Sango's door.

"Sango?" she said as she continued to knock. "Are you in there?"

She opened the door that joined the two rooms and saw that her friend wasn't there.

'I wonder where she could have disappeared to…'

She was all alone in her big room with absolutely nothing to do. She sat around for what seemed like forever.

She wanted to rub her eyes, so she took off the glasses and sat them on her lap. When she looked down at them, however, and saw her glasses in the pocket of her dress, she realized that she'd taken InuYasha's with her by mistake.

It was funny how they had the exact same prescription. She supposed that she'd have to return them to him the next time she saw him.

She was bored, bored to death. She decided to sit by the window and look out at the rain since she loved the weather so much.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him there. She saw InuYasha standing in the rain. He looked so sad, as if his best friend had just died. She didn't know if he was crying or not since he was so far away and it was raining.

Then again, guys didn't usually cry, did they? But even if she couldn't see the expression on his face, the way is shoulders were drooping, his very aura…she could feel his unhappiness…and that made her feel unhappy, too.

Kagome had skipped dinner and Sango still hadn't returned by the time she went to sleep. She looked out the window before she climbed into her bed.

InuYasha was long gone, but she'd sat there for what seemed like hours, watching him in the rain. And even after he'd disappeared from her sight, his grief had stayed with her.

She sighed.

What if she'd misjudged him this whole time? What if Prince InuYasha wasn't all that she'd convinced herself all this time?

Or maybe she was just thinking this way because he was so sad about something? Maybe she was pitying him because she had a heart? She didn't know. All she did know was that she had to figure many things out and she had to do it soon.

Some time in the night, she'd woken up to the sound of a door opening and then closing. She sighed as she yawned. Sango had finally returned. The clock told her that it was after midnight.

As much as she'd love to barge into Sango's room and question her about her whereabouts, she resisted the temptation and rolled onto her stomach before drifting back to sleep.

Sango was grown, right? If she wanted to stay gone all day and then come back during the late hours of night, who was she to get in her business? Well, she was her cousin and best friend and the princess of their kingdom…

She didn't know what Sango was up to, but her friend would tell her when she wanted to, right? She trusted Sango, so she wasn't really worried.

As she did fall asleep, the image of InuYasha in the rain came to mind. She could see it as if it were being projected onto the screen of her shut eyelids.

The memories of their conversation earlier assailed her.

Today had confused her. She wasn't sure what to think now. All she knew was that she didn't have too much time left.

She had to find out the truth and find it out soon. Her mission was not yet complete. She'd come here to investigate her fiancé and, if she could, find suitable evidence to get her out of this marriage.

After all, she agreed with InuYasha. Marrying somebody she didn't love was not something that she wanted to do. And she definitely didn't want to marry somebody who might betray her trust.

She'd come there to free herself from InuYasha, to finally be rid of him, the burden that she'd had to endure since infancy. But as she continued to think about it more and more, she began to wonder if that was really the right thing to do. 


	22. The Real InuYasha

Can I Keep You: The Real InuYasha?

Chapter 22

The Real InuYasha?

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I'M UPDATING TWO CHAPTERS TODAY, SO PLEASE READ THIS ONE AND THE NEXT ONE! Well, I'm still having problems with this computer, but I'm finally back! There's only two chapters left after the ones I'm updating today. So the next time I update will be the last, so please wait for the chapters and review if you can! Thanks for all of the reviews and for reading! Well, on with the chapter.

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"Illness? No. I am sorry to have worried you with my absence from dinner. I merely wished to rest," Kagome explained to Rin at breakfast.

She picked up her piece of toast and bit into it. She looked over at Sango and stared at her for a minute. When Sango looked back at her, Kagome raised an eyebrow and looked away. Sango had been exchanging glances with Miroku.

Here they were, eating breakfast with the royal family of the western lands, an they were fooling them completely.

Kagome was sitting directly across from InuYasha. The problem with that was the fact that Kikyo was sitting right net to him. Kagome was sick and tired of seeing Kikyo's face, the way she clung to InuYasha.

Today seeing Kikyo with him irritated her more than usual. InuYasha seemed a little better and less depressed.

The king was absent from the meal. Like her father was, Kagome realized, he must've been very busy. Sesshomaru wasn't there either. She didn't give any of it much thought as she took a sip of her coffee.

She felt eyes on her. She tried to ignore the feeling, but after five minutes she looked up. InuYasha had been staring at her. He looked away.

The strange thing about it was the fact that she didn't actually want him to look away.

A messenger came into the room and handed InuYasha a note from the king. He read it quickly and then sent the messenger away. He handed Kagome the note. She read it and Sango read it over her shoulder.

Kagome actually hadn't been in town for a little while. She was actually looking forward to it. The fact that she was going with InuYasha to speak to all of the people, however, made her a little nervous.

But she could handle it. She was a princess, after all. And Kikyo wasn't coming with them, so that was definitely something good.

You wouldn't know that it rained the day before since everything was pretty much dry now. As Kagome looked out the carriage, at the land as it passed by, she remembered the first time she'd come here. Maybe it was the carriage that triggered the memory.

She'd never seen eye to eye with InuYasha. Then again, neither of them had really ever tried to get along. It'd been that way since they were babies.

But yesterday, however, she had been able to sit down with him and get to know him, even if only a little. But that was Gome, not Kagome. Had they been in the same room knowing full and well exactly who Kagome was, would he have been unreasonable?

She didn't know. She sat back in the carriage and waited to arrive in town. She crossed her arms over her chest and crossed her legs.

Kagome sighed before glancing at InuYasha who was reading something. She'd given him back his glasses that morning. He hadn't really looked as if he'd missed them that much.

They finally arrived in town and Kagome was shocked when she saw how InuYasha calmly approached the people and spoke to them. He seemed concerned, like he truly did care, and he promised them that he would speak to his father about the problems they told him of.

That day, Kagome had talked to the young girls of town about the importance of an education. She'd handled it pretty well. They hadn't even been there for thirty minutes before they had to go to another town that was miles away.

Apparently InuYasha went to speak to the residents a few times a month. Next to the town nearest to the castle, he visited that town the most, or so the townspeople had told her.

She'd visited little towns like this in her kingdom before. The people were willing and eager to tell her what was on their minds and what they wanted her to do for them.

They had questions and she gave them answers and vice versa. She wasn't worried about being here. But she soon found out that InuYasha wasn't there to make a little speech and discuss problems. As he pulled a sword out of the carriage and jumped onto a little platform, Kagome was shocked.

"So who wants to fight me?" he said as he waved the sword around in the air.

Kagome rolled her eyes as the females clapped and cheered and the men smirked before fooling themselves into thinking that they could beat him.

She'd seen this scene before. One by one the men were defeated, yet even the defeated rose and fought once more.

She shook her head and sighed. What had really shocked her was the fact that a girl who couldn't have been more than twelve had challenged the prince without fear.

He had taken it easy on her and let her think she'd won, but Kagome was still very impressed with her skills. She had real promise. She kind of reminded the princess of herself when she was that age.

The younger children brought out wooden swords and started poking him and he fell to the ground and let them beat on him for a while. He seemed content to give them what they wanted, even if a few of those pokes looked as if they hurt.

She smiled. She hadn't seen this side of the prince before. In only two days, she'd encountered a different InuYasha, one who was very diverse from the one she'd come there to rid herself of.

The children's mothers finally came and took them away, telling them that it wasn't nice to poke him, but he hadn't really minded at all. In fact, Kagome thought he might have enjoyed it.

And then the men started challenging him again. Kagome shook her head.

"Looks like the prince is showing off again," she said with a sigh, but also with a little smile.

The older woman standing next to her shook her head.

"You're wrong," she told Kagome.

"Wrong? How?" Kagome asked.

The woman gave her a friendly smile. "This is a small town. We're quite far from the castle. We're isolated. Yet the young prince never fails to come here when he can. We spend an ample amount of time working, but we have no other means by which the pass the day. Prince InuYasha comes and entertains us, giving us something to look forward to. The women love him and the children adore him. The men enjoy sparring with him. He's like a beacon of light on a dark day."

Kagome looked back at InuYasha and then to the crowd of people. They all looked excited and happy to see him there.

"I see…" Kagome said softly.

"He does what he can raise our spirits, even if it is "showing off". He's so much like his mother. She did her best to keep people happy, too."

Kagome lifted an eyebrow and returned her gaze to the woman. "You knew the late mistress, the queen?"

The woman nodded enthusiastically, a new light returning to her aged eyes.

"I knew Lady Izayoi since her birth. I watched her grow up and mature and I watched her delight the entire village in any way that she was able to. He bears such resemblance to his mother…" the woman said with a smile as she kept her eyes on InuYasha.

InuYasha was ducking a swing from a young man. The man was fast, Kagome had to admit that much, but InuYasha was faster.

"Lady Izayoi made trips here often, then?" Kagome asked. "The same way the prince does?"

The woman laughed and looked straight at Kagome. "Lady Izayoi was born and raised here. And then one day, the kind king paid us a visit and they fell in love during their very first encounter. The young prince was born here as well, weren't you aware? Even if he has been raised in the palace, this is the place where he first came into the world. But Lady Izayoi did visit as often as she could after she moved to the palace, and she brought the prince with her."

Kagome gave a small smile to the woman. "I have come to understand. So this place is his home as well?"

"Aye," the woman said. "Unfortunately, Lady Izayoi was an only child and his grandparents, bless their souls, passed away long ago so he is without family here."

"Thank you for speaking with me," Kagome said as she began to make her way through the crowd, trying to get closer to where InuYasha was enjoying his fight.

He defeated the man he had been fighting and looked out at the crowd. "If that's all for today, I think I'll be heading back," he said.

"Not so fast," Kagome said as she stepped forward. "I wish to challenge you."

He raised an eyebrow and gave a little whistle.

"Haven't we been through this before?" he asked.

"Maybe," Kagome said with a smirk. "But we can do it once again. That is, unless the mighty prince is afraid to clash with a woman?"

He scoffed. "I damn sure don't think so."

"Fine then," Kagome said as she picked up a discarded sword. "Lets see what you've got."

He gave her a quick smirk before raising his sword. He had a good stance. Whoever taught him how to use a sword was obviously skilled. But Kagome had an excellent teacher, too.

But whoever had taught him had either not taught him how to avoid underestimating his opponent or else he just chose to ignore that lesson.

"You know," Kagome said as she blocked his first attack. "Not all women are frail, delicate flowers or fragile pieces of china."

He grinned at her as he broke the contact of their swords and hopped back before coming at her again. "Obviously not. It was a mistake to underestimate you before. I won't make that mistake twice. I went easy on you the first two time because I knew you were a woman."

Kagome laughed as she dodged his swing and blocked his next one before attacking back. "My dear prince," Kagome said as he dodged her blow. "Correct me if I am wrong, but the first time we fought, you were quite unaware of the fact that I am a woman!"

"You're wrong!" InuYasha said as he jumped back and guarded himself.

"Oh, really? You mean to tell me that you knew the truth the whole time? Well then, what gave me away? I was completely hidden under that cloak. What did you see? My face? My chest? My legs?"

He blushed before he glanced at her legs, the legs he'd been staring at during their first fight after she'd knocked him to the ground. It was on that day that he first saw that she had really nice legs.

"Okay, so I admit that I had no clue in hell that you were a woman, but that doesn't matter right now!"

"Oh it does matter! You thought I was a man and, you know, you talked me into that first fight of ours!"

"And just how did I do that?" he said as he swung at her legs. She'd jumped up over the blade and avoided it.

"Unfortunately for you, young master, I have an excellent memory so I shall tell you exactly what you said to me."

"Well then get on with it!" he yelled.

"Fine!" Kagome said. "You said: "Oh, I see that you're a wimp, a pushover like plenty of others. I was wrong to think that you'd be worth the time. You know, you remind me of the woman I'm engaged to. I haven't seen her in years, but she had that…stupid factor about her, a waste of time, you know? It's hard to find a good woman these days for men such as us. But wimps such as you couldn't get a woman, not even a man in trying. You're nothing." And can't you see, Lord InuYasha or Prince InuYasha or Master InuYasha or whichever you prefer to be called, as a woman I could not stand idly by and listen to your chauvinistic talk!"

InuYasha stopped for a second after remembering all of the things he'd said to her.

Kagome took that opportune moment of hesitation to smack him in the leg with the blunt side of her blade.

"Ow!" he said as he jumped up and down on his uninjured leg.

"That was for the degrading remarks. And this," Kagome said as she hit his other leg, "is for the woman that you are betrothed to wed!"

"Okay, I get the damn idea!" InuYasha said as she sheathed her sword.

"Please forgive me Lord InuYasha," she said as she bowed low to him. "I have fought with the prince and I have injured him."

He rolled his eyes as she stood back up. "You aren't sorry in the least and you know it."

She smirked. "Maybe so, but peasants should not act in the manner that I have."

"Well maybe you're unaware of this," he said as he stood a couple of inches away from her. "But for some reason, I think I got what I deserved. And anybody other than you would have been punished for giving it to me."

He walked away and left her standing there. She was slightly confused by his words, yet they made her feel strangely warm inside.

"Wait, where are you going?" she called after him.

"The young prince is making his way to my house," the same older woman from before spoke.

"He is?" Kagome asked.

"Yes. It seems as if it is getting late in the day. You two would not reach the castle until well after nightfall at this rate. He's made a suitable decision to spend the night here."

Kagome sighed and looked at the woman momentarily before tracking down the rightful owner of the sword she'd used to defeat InuYasha.

She returned to the woman and bowed to her. "Excuse me, but would it be a terrible burden of me to ask you to take me into your home for the night?"

The woman laughed at her formality and made her stand up. "Young lady, I really would not wish it any other way. So please, don't bow before the likes of me."

"Thank you very much," Kagome said before following the woman to her home.

It was small, but it was cozy and inviting. Kagome felt warm and safe the moment she stepped inside. It appeared that InuYasha had his own room and had gone in there.

Kagome in the kitchen across the table from the woman.

"I am Chio. I suppose that I am the closest thing Lord InuYasha has to family in the town."

"Really?" Kagome said as she took a sip of the cup of coffee the woman had handed her.

The woman nodded enthusiastically.

"You see, I grew up with his mother, Lady Izayoi. We were best friends, so close that we were like sisters. If you are ever able to experience something like that, you will be most fortunate."

"I already have," Kagome said, thinking about Sango. "Gogo isn't only my cousin and my best friend. She's always been my sister, as well."

Chio smiled at her.

"So you see, everybody needs somebody dependable close to them, a person who you do not have to doubt where their loyalties lie. We're similar, aren't we Ms…."

"Oh how terribly rude of me," Kagome said to Chio. "I forgot to tell you my name. I'm Gome."

They sat there talking for about half an hour straight and Kagome had really grown to like this woman. But then Chio declared that she was going to make a nice dinner and informed Kagome that she would not be allowed to help.

The princess made her way to the guest bedroom, which was across from the one that InuYasha had taken up residence in.

She sat there in the room for a while but she was terribly bored. Deciding that a breath of fresh air might do her some good, she slipped out of the back door and went outside.

There was a beautiful tree out back with branches low enough for her to reach. She grabbed them and climbed up the tree quite easily.

Her and Sango would climb trees all the time when they were children. Kagome would intentionally rip her dresses in the trees just to spite her parents.

Sango, however, had been a bit more careful. Then again, she wasn't the one who was being forced to marry a mutt of a prince from a kingdom so far away.

Kagome sat comfortably on the tree branch and looked up through the canopy of leaves at the moon.

"So free…" Kagome whispered. "Nobody can bind the moon…"

She heard a noise across the tree and she looked to the left. Sitting on the branch was InuYasha and he was looking straight at her.

"Lord InuYasha, what are you doing up here?" she asked, shocked.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said as he pointed to her dress. "It would be a shame to ruin that dress."

Kagome smiled in amusement. "I always was a bit of a tomboy…"

"Who are you really?" InuYasha asked as he looked at Kagome.

"Wh…what do you mean?" Kagome asked, afraid that he was suspicious.

He squinted his golden eyes and looked at her a bit harder.

"You're…different. You're a peasant, yet you're so skilled with a sword as well as a bow…"

He rubbed his chin in thought.

Kagome sighed. "A woman was kind enough to teach me everything that she knew about such things. She was very skilled herself. But…she died not long ago, despite her youth…"

"I…think she was a damn good teacher," InuYasha told her before looking away.

'Was that a…a compliment?!' she thought in astonishment.

She blushed slightly and was grateful that he couldn't see it in the darkness. What she didn't know, however, was the fact that he was blushing, too.

A strange silence fell between them. It was awkward at first, but as the time passed it became more comfortable.

"You know…" InuYasha began after a while. "I'm not actually so damn narrow-minded. Women…don't belong in the kitchen…"

Kagome smiled. 'I think that's his way of apologizing…' she thought.

They sat there for quite a while talking about random things. The more Kagome talked to him, the more she realized that she was wrong to think many of the things she'd thought about him.

"So…why were you so sad before?" Kagome finally asked. "I saw you standing in the rain. I watched you for a long time, until you disappeared from my view…"

He looked down at the ground, his doggy ears flattening against his head.

The drooping of those ears made Kagome feel a bit sad.

"Damn…I…just don't talk about this…to anybody, but…it was on a day just like that….when my mother died. On rainy days like that…I…just lose it."

"I'm sorry I asked," Kagome said told him.

'No wonder he usually stays in his room all day when it rains. I never knew…'

He looked up at her and smiled sadly. She'd seen him smile before, but it had been rather cocky or else amused. But right now…it was something different.

It was sad, but…there was something to it, also.

"Don't be."

He was so different right now from the InuYashashe'd met with at the age of twelve. And he was different from the InuYasha she'd seen showing off when she'd come to the western lands not long ago. Who was he, really? Why did he act one way and then act another that was so completely different? Who was the real InuYasha? And why, at that moment, did she truly want to find out?

What made InuYasha tick? What went on in that head of his?

They sat there for a long time, talking about nothing in particular and then about nothing at all. It was strange, just how easy it was for her to talk to him. It was comfortable and nice.

But more importantly, it felt so right…so perfect.


	23. True Feelings

Can I Keep You: True Feelings

Chapter 23

True Feelings

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THIS IS THE SECOND CHAPTER I'VE UPDATED TODAY. So please read the first one as well! Like I said before, the next time I update, I'll be updating the last two chapters. So please wait for it! I'm having computer problems so it may be a while, but I promise that I will update! So here's the chapter.

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Kagome awoke to the sound of the birds chirping outside. She shielded her eyes from the light that flooded in through the window despite the curtains.

It had been a few weeks since she'd left Chio's house, since her talk with InuYasha. They seemed to talk more and more now. They talked about many things from the situations of the kingdom to things that they had in common.

For one, they both shared the odd liking of having hot sauce and mustard on scrambled eggs. Now if that isn't a strange coincidence, then I don't know what is.

Kagome found herself barely listening to rumors about him these days. In fact, she usually didn't listen to them at all.

From the way InuYasha talked about certain things, about his beliefs about things such as loyalty and marriage…he couldn't have done the things that those silly girls said. They were probably just trying to impress their friends.

She was starting to wonder how she could be so gullible and believe those silly rumors in the first place, to let such an unreliable source goad her on.

She felt like she knew him pretty well now. She woke up in the morning and thought of how she'd end up talking to him today without looking like a complete fool.

When she woke up, he was the first thing on her mind. And when she was around him…she got nervous, but it was in a good way. And this feeling scared her, but she really, really liked it.

Kikyo would stand by watching with angry written in bold letters all across her face or else she'd interrupt whenever she could. She never gave it a rest.

Kagome felt a little lonely without Sango around. She hardly ever saw her these days. She was usually almost always gone and when she was actually around, it was only long enough to get ready to leave again.

Kagome wasn't stupid. She knew that Sango was running around with Miroku. She was sure that Sango wasn't dong anything bad since she knew she was such a goody-goody, but still…she was worried.

Of course Kagome wasn't worried that Sango would tell their secret to Miroku, though. She trusted Sango more than pretty much anybody.

Kagome decided to sit by the lake and sketch a bit of the scenery. It was a nice day. The clouds were white and fluffy in the otherwise clear sky, the lake sparkled as if diamonds were embedded in the bottom of it, and the cool breeze gently blew during the warm day.

The bushes nearby were covered in nice flowers. It was a great day. She'd sat down and started to sketch her surroundings, but that was when she saw him standing there. InuYasha was standing at the edge of the water not too far away. He was staring at the water, or so it seemed.

The breeze blew his long silvery hair back behind him and then around him. It was an image, a picture that Kagome couldn't pass up. She had sketched InuYasha and caught the moment on the paper.

The look in his golden eyes, the soft strands of his light hair, the angles of his handsome face, the lovable doggy ears on top of his head…

She'd captured it all and when she finished, she was shocked at the end result. It was perfect. She'd been so completely into that picture.

A shadow darkened the paper, the shadow of a head with familiar doggy ears. They twitched and she resisted the desire to laugh. Kagome looked up at InuYasha.

"You just drew that?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said as she looked out across the water. "I wished to capture the moment."

He crossed his arms over his chest continued to look down at the picture. She was good, he had to admit. The most that he could draw was stick people even though he was a prince.

He sat down next to her and took a closer look at the picture.

"Damn, that's me, definitely," he said as he looked at it. "You even got my ears."

His ears. His little doggy ears. Kagome looked up at them and temptation got the best of her.

'I think I want to touch 'them,' she thought faintly before she did just that.

He sat there shocked, not quite sure what to do as her fingers grabbed on to his ears and rubbed them gently. She even started to scratch them lightly. He was prepared to tell her to let the hell go at first, but then it started to feel good and he relaxed into it.

They were so soft, Kagome noticed as she rubbed the ears. She let them go and sat back and was shocked to see InuYasha's eyes were closed and he looked extremely relaxed.

She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms and waited for him to open his eyes, which he did, and look at her.

First he'd twitched the ears, noticing the absence of the fingers that had been there, and then he opened his eyes and looked at her.

Then he blushed when he realized just how much he'd enjoyed it and the fact that she was staring at him with a very amused look on her face.

"What the…" he began.

"Interesting," Kagome said. "Master InuYasha has a weakness, it seems."

He blushed even more.

"Damn, I don't have a weakness!"

"There's no need to be embarrassed," Kagome said. "I rather enjoyed it."

He growled slightly and was about to stand up when she reached for his ears again. He sat back down so fast that you could see his dust.

Kagome grinned slightly before she began to rub the ears again. She wasn't sure how long they sat there together while she rubbed his ears. All she knew was that this was…nice…maybe a little too nice.

What she definitely didn't know was the fact that Kikyo had been watching for the longest time, hidden behind a tree, her fingernails digging into the bark.

She growled low under her breath and turned away, hurrying back to the castle.

This peasant girl was getting a little too close to InuYasha, in her opinion. She already had enough to worry about since he was engaged to that horrible princess from the eastern lands, but this girl was getting in her way, too!

She had to come up with a way to get her out of the way and fast! And then it hit her, the perfect idea. InuYasha wouldn't want this girl if she were already somebody else's, would he?

There was one person who she knew of who could help her get Gome out of the way and she knew that he would be more than willing to cooperate.

Kagome let go of InuYasha's ears and sat there with him, watching the sunset. Neither of them spoke for the longest time.

Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, both thinking long and hard about each other.

InuYasha picked up a rock and threw it across the water. It skidded for a while before it finally stopped and sank to the bottom.

Kagome gently picked one up herself and threw it, too, hers going farther than his.

He looked at her for a minute before speaking.

"How do you do that?" he asked her.

"Do what?" she asked him as she watched her rock sink.

"You…always beat me…at every damn thing."

She shook her head. "I do not," she told him.

He nodded. "Swords, archery, even darts. You always defeat me."

She shrugged. "I've done many things in my life," she told him nonchalantly.

"You must've done many things to be able to beat a prince," he told her.

"You know not of it all, Lord InuYasha," she told him.

"Saying such a thing as that makes me want to know. How did a peasant learn such things?"

'It's easy InuYasha. I am not a peasant…' she thought faintly.

"Life's just…amazing that way, I suppose," she told him quietly.

He stared at her.

"Amazing is the fact that nobody has ever been allowed to touch my ears before, except for my mother. Amazing is the fact that…for some reason, I let you do that."

She setting sun lent his hair a warm glow, lit his golden eyes.

Those eyes, those golden eyes that she just wanted to sit there and stare at, eyes that she could easily get lost in.

They stared at her with an intensity she could feel.

She knew exactly what he was doing as his face came closer to hers, as his eyes didn't break contact. The question was, did he know?

She remembered how it felt, his lips against hers, and she shivered. It just felt…too nice. They both began to close their eyes as his lips came so close, less than half an inch from hers.

She was waiting for it. She knew that she should stop him, that's what her mind told her. Her body had other ideas.

But…this wouldn't be right, would it? He was engaged, wasn't he? He was engaged to her, in fact, and she'd come to these lands to break that engagement, to find a way to get out of it.

Technically, he wouldn't be cheating on her if he kissed her. But he didn't know that she was his fiancée, so as far as he knew, he was cheating on the princess of the eastern lands.

Even though her body, her heart told her to let him kiss her, her mind won in the end.

He was so close that she could feel his breath brush her lips lightly, so close that she could already feel his lips on hers, but…

"What about…your fiancée, the princess of the east?" she whispered against his lips.

His eyes shot open and he leaned away, his lips no longer near hers.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that he was gone.

What about his fiancée? As far as he knew, he was cheating on the woman he was supposed to be marrying. Did he feel no remorse? Did he do this with the girls from the kingdom, the ones who started the rumors?

Or was she…different?

Kagome sighed as she stood up and gathered her belongings, going back to the castle. InuYasha must've either ran there very fast or else he was still outside somewhere.

She didn't really know where he was as she walked to the door. All she knew was that she felt eyes on her, and that those eyes probably belonged to him.

Kagome hurried inside the castle and made her way up to her room.

When the door was closed safely behind her, she ran to her bed and collapsed on it, burying her face in her pillow.

She heard the door that joined her room and Sango's open before her friend made her way into the room.

"Kagome, I had the best time!" she said as she spun around in her pretty dress.

"Just where is it that you have been?" Kagome asked her even though she already knew that answer.

"I'm sorry I've been absent as of late, but I've finally been spending time with Master Miroku," she told her. "But I am sure that you already know this."

Kagome nodded slightly and sat up.

"I know that you came here with me to help, but I've always been aware of your other reason," Kagome said. "You're in love with him, right? And he's beginning to love you, too?"

Sango nodded.

"This is…horrible!" Kagome said as she fell back again, staring up at the ceiling.

"What is?" Sango asked, shocked. "Is it bad, me being with Miroku?"

Kagome shook her head.

"No, that's not what I speak of."

"What then…" Sango said before her eyes widened. "Wait, has our secret been found out?!"

Kagome shook her head again.

"No…not that…If that were the case, we'd already be standing before the king…"

Sango sat down on the bed and leaned over, looking into Kagome's eyes.

"Then…what is the problem?" Sango asked her, worried.

Kagome sighed before she brought her arm over her eyes and shook her head.

"Sango…I came here hoping to find a way to break my engagement to InuYasha. I never wished to be betrothed to him. I never wanted to be forced to marry somebody I did not love. But I have found out that these rumors that brought us here…I…I don't think that they are true after all!"

"Oh…" Sango said.

"But…there's something else…" Kagome said quietly.

"What is it?" Sango asked as she leaned back and stared at Kagome as tears rolled down the sides of her face.

"I'm horrible, aren't I Sango? I came here hating InuYasha, despising him…yet I ended up…I think I've fallen in love with him..."

Sango wasn't sure what to say. This was a shock to her. Everything they'd heard, all of the rumors were false? And more than that, Kagome had fallen in love with the very prince she'd sworn to rid herself of?

Kagome rolled over and buried her face in the pillow again. Sango didn't know what to say so she merely rubbed Kagome's back, giving her a companionable silence.

What would they do now? Their mission…what was the point of it now? They were in the middle of one big mess.

Kagome's parents thought she'd been there the whole time trying to get to know InuYasha. The truth was that she'd been there trying to get the dirt she needed to get rid of him.

But when it came down to it, the truth she'd uncovered was the fact that InuYasha was innocent. And then she'd gone and fallen in love.

And Sango…she'd loved Miroku for so long and now he was feeling the same way. If their secret was found out now, that would only make things that much worse.

"So will you help me?" Kikyo asked the man who sat across from her.

"It depends…what's in it for me?"

She ran her fingers through her hair.

"This Gome girl is hindering my plans. I've seen how you look at her."

"Oh? Gome, that girl who was a servant?"

"That's the one."

He smiled sinisterly. He'd had his eyes on that girl for a long time, since the day he hired her to work in the castle. She'd managed to avoid him well enough, but not this time. This time, he would have her, just like he'd had almost all of the rest.

"I'm in. Just make sure that it's worth my time," Naraku told her.

"Oh I will," Kikyo said as she stood up. "I will."

Dinner was not too pleasant. Kagome and InuYasha avoided looking at each other and didn't speak either.

'What about your fiancée?' These words kept repeating themselves in Kagome's head. Why did he suddenly leave?

Was it because he knew that the kiss would be wrong? Was it because he knew that even though he didn't love the woman he was going to marry, he could not betray her?

Kagome had wanted that kiss, she realized. She'd wanted it as badly as a drowning person wanted to breath.

And that scared her. What would've happened if she hadn't asked him that one little question? He would've kissed her, right? But what would happen after that? What would he say to her? What would she say to him?

She'd done the right thing, hadn't she? That kiss would've complicated things even more. Then again, the fact that she'd gone and fallen in love with him complicated things badly enough.

Kagome could feel his eyes on her occasionally during dinner. What was worse was the fact that she could definitely feel Kikyo's eyes on her. That woman had been glaring at her the whole time, watching her every move with an angry look on her face.

Now Kagome wandered through the halls late at night. Dinner had ended long ago and Sango was back in her room. Kagome, however, didn't feel like returning just yet.

She just walked around with no destination in sight.

She'd been lost in her thoughts, lost in her worries, in her concerns.

When her mind had cleared a little, she stopped for a moment and realized that she had no idea where she was.

Of course she knew that she was in the castle, but where in the castle was she?

She felt like she was being watched…and it made her feel uncomfortable.

But what made her scared was the fact that she did know where she was. She was only a hall away from…Naraku's room.

She knew she had to get away from there quickly, as far away as she could. She knew she had to get back to her own room.

Naraku…he was a creep, a criminal, and he scared her. That look in his eyes, the stories of what he'd done to all of those innocent girls.

She just had to get away.

She turned around and was going to run, but she felt an arm reach out and grab hers.

She was going to scream, but a hand covered her mouth.

"Calm down," that familiar, sick voice told her. "I'll take good care of you."

'No!' Kagome thought as she tried to escape. 'No!'

She tried to hit him, but he wrapped his arm around both of hers and held her tightly.

She tried to scream, but that didn't help. His hand against her mouth drowned out the sound. He dragged her down the hall, dragged her to his room.

Kagome did all that she could to get free, but it was useless.

After all the years, all the different things she'd done, she couldn't help herself now could she? She'd even taken karate, yet right now that did her no good! She couldn't fight him, he was just too strong.

He opened the door and locked it behind them before he crossed the room and threw her onto the bed.

"I've waited so long," he said as he tied her hands to the headboard. "But the wait is over. It ends now."

InuYasha wouldn't want Gome if she spent the night with Naraku, would he? No, he wouldn't want Naraku's leftovers, right?

That was what Kikyo was counting on.

And Naraku had no objections. After all, he'd wanted Kagome the second he saw her. And now was his chance.

He discarded his shirt quickly. Kagome closed her eyes tightly and blinked back tears. She didn't want this, yet she felt so powerless to stop it.

Naraku walked to the bed and sat down next to her, running his hand across her cheek.

"So soft," he said in his disgusting voice. "I can only imagine how soft the rest of you is."

He climbed on top of her and reached out to her chest, before he began to unbutton the dress.

'No!' Kagome thought as he undid the first three buttons.

She squirmed and tried to free herself, but it wasn't working.

"Calm down," he said as he undid a few more buttons and revealed her skin. "This won't hurt a bit."

He trailed kisses down her, across her skin, and she had never felt so dirty in her life.

He leaned back and undid the rest of the buttons before untying her hands long enough to push the dress down over her shoulders.

Then he began to unbutton his pants.

'There's…not much time!' Kagome thought frantically. 'I can't let this happen!'

And that was when she remembered something she'd been told long ago, something Ms. Komu, her masculine teacher who was a bodybuilder, said to her.

'And then, if you can't twist his arm behind his back and kick him, you can always do one thing…' she remembered the woman saying.

'Kick him where it hurts!' Kagome thought before she somehow found the strength to pull back her legs, which he'd been sitting on and hadn't even tied up, and kicking him in between his legs so hard that he flew back against the wall!

With a desperate, powerful yank, her hands came free from the rope.

"Keep your disgusting hands off of me you bastard!" Kagome said after she yanked off the tape he'd put across her mouth.

"Oh no you don't!" he said as he jumped up.

Kagome pulled her dress up as best as she could and ran for the door, throwing it open and taking off down the hall.

"You're coming back with me!" he said as he caught up to her .

He grabbed her arm and got at tight grip.

"I suppose that it's time to tell you…I'm a black belt in karate!" she said before defending herself.

She took off down the hall and ran as fast as she could, trying to find some help.

She felt as if he was right behind her, as if he would catch up to her at any second.

A pair of arms reached out and grabbed her.

"Let me go!" she said as she struggled to get free. "Let go!"

"Calm down!" she heard a familiar voice say.

"I…InuYasha?" she said as she stopped fighting.

He let her go and she turned around to see InuYasha. She didn't think at all as she threw her arms around him and began to cry into his chest.

Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and tried to calm her down.

He hadn't known what to think when he saw Kagome running down the hallway in the middle of the night with her dress unbuttoned in the front and slipping down her shoulders.

And now, he still didn't know what to think.


	24. The Cat is Out of the Bag

Can I You 24: The Cat is Out of the Bag

Chapter 24

The Cat is Out of the Bag

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Okay, I'm back. And I'm updating the LAST TWO CHAPTERS. I'm really sad, but I'm really excited about it for some reason. Thanks for all of your reviews, I appreciate them! So please don't forget to review for these two chapters and let me know what you think! This chapter, the cat is finally out of the bag!

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Naraku had tried to take advantage of her. As soon as she'd told InuYasha this, he'd hurried towards Naraku's room only to find him beaten up pretty badly and laying motionless on the floor.

Kagome had beaten the crap out of him, but InuYasha hadn't been satisfied until he had his turn, which he did.

The king had demanded an explanation and Kagome had told him exactly what happened. It was then that all of the other young women in the castle who Naraku had harmed found the courage to come forward and tell their stories.

Needless to say, Naraku was fired. And…needless to say, he'd never be harming any innocent women again.

InuYasha had sat in her room with her the rest of the night, Sango and Miru as well. It was early in the morning when InuYasha's father called for him to come speak with him.

Miru had been so concerned about Kagome that she had forgotten to get the mail. Big mistake!

"Guess Miru isn't coming today," the guard said as he stepped inside and sat the mail down on the table.

"She'll be by eventually," the other guard said from his post.

The other guard shrugged.

The mail sat carelessly on the table, Kikyo noticed as she walked by.

Curious, she walked over to it and went through it.

'Maybe InuYasha got some mail and I can find an excuse to go see him!' she thought as she picked it up.

What she hadn't expected, though, was the letter in the pile that was addressed to Kagome, InuYasha's fiancée.

'Kagome?!' Kikyo thought. 'That horrid woman my prince is betrothed to?! Why would this be here? I thought her visit had been cancelled…'

She put the rest of the mail back on the table and hurried to her room to read the letter.

'Dearest daughter,' the letter began. 'Your mother and I are pleased to hear that you have made progress with Prince InuYasha. After all, your wedding will be very soon. These long years we have had such worry about you, worry that this betrothal would not work out and now that it has, there is cause for a celebration. You will be surprised to know that your mother and I are on our way to the western lands at this very moment. We should arrive at some point during Friday night. Please tell the king to expect us.'

That was all that Kikyo needed to read.

She sat down in a nearby chair and thought long and hard about it.

'Kagome…Ka…gome…Gome? Wait!'

So Gome, that servant girl, was the princess? That was the only person who it could be. But why was she there under a false identity?

Kikyo had to find this out.

She hid around the corner as Miru rushed out of Kagome's room to go get the mail she'd forgotten.

Kikyo ran into the closet across the hall and waited for Miru to return, which she did. And she also left Kagome's door halfway open. Kikyo could hear what was being said in the room and she could see them, too.

"Forgive me princess," Miru said as she entered the room. "I could have ruined everything."

"It's fine," Kagome said from where she was laying on her bed. "I take it that there was no letter from my parents?"

Miru shook her head. "None. Your secret is safe princess."

Kagome sighed.

"The mission is over," Kagome told Miru. "I came here after hearing the rumors of InuYasha cheating on me, I came here to find evidence and free myself from the engagement…But now I can't, I won't. I've realized and have come to accept the fact that I love him."

"I know," Miru said. "As you told me before, continuing the charade is pointless."

"She plans to tell him tonight, to tell him everything, even that she loves him," Sango spoke from where she was leaning against the wall.

"If somebody else found out…if he heard it from someone else's mouth, it could be disastrous," Kagome told them. "I can make him understand, I know I can. I can fix this."

Kikyo smiled ominously. So that was what Kagome had been up to? Trying to rid herself of InuYasha? Well, Kikyo would help her. She would help break their engagement and then…InuYasha would be hers!

She'd said it herself, hadn't she? It could be disastrous if he heard the truth from somebody else. She supposed that she could just walk over to InuYasha's room and tell him the truth now, but that wasn't good enough for her.

She squeezed the letter tightly in her hand. No, that wasn't good enough. She was the only person who knew that Kagome's parents were coming, wasn't she?

That was something that would definitely work to her advantage.

Having heard all that she needed to, Kikyo waited until they shut the door and then left the closet.

Soon Kagome would be out of the way and InuYasha would be all hers.

A party was being held that night. Kagome planned on finding the time to tell him then. She would explain everything to him. Everything about what she did and why she did it and why she was even telling it all to him, about how she loved him.

Maybe he would understand and maybe he wouldn't. Kagome knew that there was a chance that he might hate her forever, but still…she had to tell him. She was in too far now to turn back, wasn't she?

He would know the truth that night. She promised herself that she would tell him at the party.

She remembered that first party she went to, InuYasha's birthday party.

Memory

Kagome watched the way they danced, they way they whispered things in each other's ears.

"You see that Sango?" Kagome asked. "They're getting fresh with each other. Oh, now he's leading her up the stairs."

"Kikyo's so lucky. Master InuYasha has always fancied her over everybody else," a village girl said.

"Now's the time," Sango said.

"Yes," Kagome agreed.

InuYasha and Kikyo had reached the top of the staircase when Kagome and Sango made their true entrance, dresses changed into something much more beautiful as they stood in the doorway.

People looked at them and stepped aside, until there was a clean straight trail from them to the staircase.

"Look at those beautiful women," a man whispered.

"I've never seen such beauties around here before," another man whispered.

InuYasha looked back to see why everybody had suddenly become so quiet.

He could see that there was a clean line from the staircase to he doorway and standing in the doorway were two very beautiful women, the one in the blue dress catching his eye.

"He's sees us," Sango said. "We should get to walking; you walk a little ahead of me."

"I know," Kagome said.

They began walking towards the staircase, eyes straight ahead as they made a great impression.

When they were about halfway, Kagome looked up at InuYasha and winked at him.

He smiled, transfixed by her remarkable eyes.

Pushing Kikyo aside, InuYasha walked down the staircase and too the one in the blue dress, the one who'd winked at him.

He approached her slowly, trying not to look really anxious.

He stood in front of her, Kagome bowing slightly in his presence.

"My lord InuYasha, it is an honor to attend this party of yours. I aspire nothing but your happiness," Kagome said in a pleasant tone. "And yet I have nothing to offer you but my hand in a dance. Shall you take me up on my offer?"

"Arise fair maiden," InuYasha said in a proper way to impress. "I'll take you up on your offer."

Kagome stood up straight and held out her hand.

He took it and they began to dance.

He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They danced very closely.

Kikyo glared at the back of InuYasha's head before she turned around and stomped away.

Everybody else began to dance, too.

"I…haven't ever seen you around here before," InuYasha said. "Where do you come from?"

"I come from the northern lands, and I can only stay here for the night. I was here on a visit when I found out about your party. Unfortunately, I'll be leaving in the morning."

"That's a damn shame," InuYasha said. "Would you like for me to give you a private tour of the castle, since you'll be leaving so soon?"

"Why certainly," Kagome said.

InuYasha took her hand and led her up the staircase.

Kagome turned her head back and winked at Sango, who winked back.

As InuYasha and Kagome passed by, Miroku noticed the other beautiful young woman in the lavender dress.

Her beauty astounded him even though she was wearing a mask.

He could see her face clearly since she hadn't worn a mask, and neither had her friend.

Walking down the staircase, he reached her.

She was standing amongst the crowd, looking rather bored.

"Um…excuse me," Miroku said. "Might I ask a beautiful lady such as you to a dance?"

He chose his words wisely.

Sango looked around for a moment before thinking it over and then nodding her head.

She took Miroku's hand and they began to dance.

"That door leads to the garden," InuYasha said.

"Really? Is the garden beautiful?" Kagome asked.

He nodded.

"Why don't I take you out to see it?" he said.

"Sure," Kagome said to him. "That sound like a great idea."

He opened the door and led her outside into the garden.

"They're beautiful," Kagome said as she looked at all of the flowers.

'This place always works for the romantic atmosphere,' InuYasha thought.

End of Memory

This party would be different, though. This time when they walked up those stairs, it would be so that they could talk in private, so that she could tell him what she'd been hiding from him.

The garden might even be a great place to spill the beans.

'What about your fiancée, the princess of the east?'

He still hadn't answered her question. They'd been avoiding each other. He'd almost kissed her, Gome the former maid. He had no clue that he was really gong to kiss Kagome the princess.

She figured that he was thinking about what he should do. He was trapped in an engagement to someone he didn't want and there he was about to kiss somebody that, she hoped, he did want.

Maybe there was hope after all. If he had fallen in love with "Gome", then maybe things would work out with him and "Kagome".

Ever since their kiss after the contest, she'd started to…change, when it came to him. Maybe somewhere deep inside, it had happened even before then. Maybe that was why she gotten madder than mad when she heard the rumors about him.

Maybe, this whole time, she had somehow always loved him.

Things weren't bad for Sango like they were for Kagome.

Kagome had a strange feeling that even when Miroku learned the truth, he wouldn't hold it against Sango. No, this was Kagome's mess. If anybody suffered consequences, it would be her.

She sighed as she brushed her hair. She had to start getting ready for the party, right? She had to get ready to tell InuYasha what she wanted to tell him.

She remembered Naraku on top of her, unbuttoning her dress. She shivered. He really was going to…to…

She shook her head. She couldn't bear to finish the sentence, even in her own head.

When Naraku grabbed her arm, she'd used every karate move she could think of on him and she was grateful that she'd taken all of those classes even though her parents had disapproved.

And when InuYasha got there, he beat him up even more. Naraku was still unconscious in the dungeon. And then InuYasha had taken her back to her room and waited outside of the door while she took a long, hot bath.

He stood there with Sango and Miru, waiting. If any of them talked to each other during that time, she didn't know.

They all had stayed with her the whole night. InuYasha had seemed genuinely concerned. Neither of them had spoken a word to each other, yet that was okay. The fact that he was sitting there was enough for her.

And besides, what if he brought up the fact that they almost kissed. That was something she couldn't handle speaking about at the moment.

There was a knock on her door and she opened it up. She was surprised to see that it was Miroku.

"Hi there," he said as she stood back and let him in.

"Master Miroku," she said as she closed the door behind herself. "What brings you here?"

She sat the hairbrush down on the dresser and turned to look at him.

"You're Gogo's cousin, right?"

Kagome nodded.

"The last time I checked, I believe so," she told him.

He laughed…nervously.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"I'm fine, just fine," he told her. "Anyway, I am in need your advice."

She shrugged.

"I'll try to help."

He pulled something out of his pocket, a little black box.

Kagome gasped as he opened it up and revealed a ring.

"Wow," Kagome said as she looked at it. "That's gorgeous."

"I want to ask her to marry me even though I don't know much about her. It's just that…We have this connection. I feel as if I've known her for a long time even though I haven't…"

"I see…" Kagome began.

"But if you think that it's too soon and I'll just scare her away, then please tell me so!"

Kagome shook her head.

"Go for it," she told him. "I know she will accept your proposal."

"Really?" he said.

"You are all she speaks of as of late. Trust me, she'll say yes."

"It's crazy," he told her. "How could I fall in love with somebody in so short of a time?"

"It's not crazy," Kagome told him. "If love is genuine, then there's nothing crazy about it."

"Thank you," Miroku said before giving her a quick hug and pretty much floating out of the door.

'I don't want to marry someone I don't love.'

That's what she thought. Sango was getting engaged, and to somebody who she truly loved.

Eighteen long years ago, she got engaged. And it was to somebody who she didn't love. Now, however, she did love him.

She picked up the brush and ran it through her hair again.

Whether or not she was ready to do this, it needed to be done. She finished getting ready and walked out of the door.

The gentle music playing as she walked down the staircase soothed her a little bit.

She stood by and watched as Miroku got down on one knee and popped the question. Sango had looked shocked, but she regained her composure soon enough and told him yes.

She then waved her hand at Kagome so hard that her engagement ring flew off and Miroku ran off to find it.

Kagome sighed and then went to help him.

'Found it,' she thought as she spotted it on the floor nearby and went to grab it. When she bent over and put her hand around it, she noticed a pair of feet had stopped right in front of her.

Standing up, she looked straight up at InuYasha.

"Gome, I can't find it anywhere," Miroku said as he reached her. "Oh…" he said when he saw InuYasha in front of her.

Kagome opened her hand and handed him the ring.

"Oh, okay. I'll just leave you alone now," Miroku said before he ran over to Sango.

She looked up at him and found her thoughts totally and completely scattered. She'd been preparing herself all day to see him tonight. But now that the moment had arrived, she fell herself falling apart again.

"I…InuYasha," she said nervously. "H…hi."

"Listen…I…would you dance with me?" he said.

She nodded before she let him lead her onto the dance floor. They began to dance elegantly around the other couples, floating across the floor.

She breathed in deeply and out slowly. She was nervous and she could tell that for some reason he was, too.

"Damn…" he said in a confused way. "Look. I've been thinking…"

Kagome wanted to tell him, had to tell him, but she didn't want to do it here in the midst of the party. She had to get him somewhere quiet and secluded so they could talk about it alone.

"InuYasha, can we go somewhere private? I have something I wish to speak to you about."

"In a minute," he told her. "I've been thinking of what you said to me before. About my fiancée…"

"That's what I wish to speak with you about," Kagome said as he spun her around. "There's something I really need to tell you."

They stopped dancing and she looked up at him. He looked as handsome as ever, looking down at her with eyes like a liquefied sun.

She had to tell him everything. There was no way around it. He deserved the know the truth, right? It was now or never.

"Listen. I don't really know how to tell you this and…I desired to speak about it in private…but…"

"But she's a little liar," Kikyo said as she approached them.

"What?" InuYasha said.

"You heard me InuYasha. She's a liar. L.I.A.R. She's been deceiving you this entire time."

"I…I don't understand," InuYasha said as he looked from Kagome to Kikyo and then back to Kagome again.

'She knows!' Kagome thought frantically. She began to panic as she looked at InuYasha and then over at Kikyo's smug smile.

Kikyo had her now and they both knew it.

'No!' Kagome thought. 'He has to hear it from me and only me! Kikyo will ruin everything! I'd be a fool to believe that anything helpful would leave her mouth!'

"Damn, somebody say something already. I demand an explanation!"

Kagome looked down at the ground with shame and sadness filling her eyes with tears.

"This, my dear prince," Kikyo said almost ecstatically, "is none other than Kagome, the princess of the eastern lands and the woman you are betrothed to."

Kikyo smiled as she saw the look on both of their faces.

The cat was finally out of the bag. 


	25. Happily Ever After

Can I Keep You: Happily Ever After?

Chapter 25

Happily Ever After?

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Well, here's the last chapter. I've updated these last two chapters today and now it's over. But I'm sooooo happy that everybody read my story and enjoyed it. Thank you so much! And the reviews were great so thanks for that, too! I really like this story and I forget I even wrote it when I sit down and read it. So I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. So here's the last chapter. Will Kagome and InuYasha have their "Happily Ever After"?

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Kagome groaned as somebody pulled back her curtains and opened a window, letting the light flood into the room.

"No!" she groaned as she pulled the covers up over her face and tried to go back to sleep.

If she continued to see the light, then she'd completely wake up. And waking up was something she didn't want to do. She dreaded waking up because then, she'd remember everything that had happened.

She'd remember the party. She'd remember Kikyo telling InuYasha the truth, that she had been spying on him the whole time. She'd remember the shocked look on his face and the hurt, she'd remember the look on the faces of her parents, on the faces of everybody at the party.

But most of all….she'd remember his harsh words. They stabbed her heart like a sword that was sharpened to perfection.

It was right after Kikyo told InuYasha the truth that Kagome's parents entered the room and stood in the doorway.

"I'm sorry InuYasha," Kagome said as she looked at the ground, trying to avoid the angry intensity of his amber gaze. "I…I meant not for you to find out in such a manner. But you must understand…I.."

"I think I understand. Damn, I think I understand perfectly. You did this because you didn't want to marry me, right?'

Kagome was on the verge of tears.

"Yes, but that was then. That was before I…"

"No, I don't want to hear it!" InuYasha said as he glared at her. "You've been lying this entire time. Hell, for all I know, whatever you were going to say was a lie too! And I…I trusted you."

"You…you have to listen to me!" Kagome said. "It was a mistake InuYasha. I…"

"You're right," he interrupted. "This whole damn thing was a mistake. Me and you…the engagement! I'm sure my father will agree that it's over between us."

"That's right," Kikyo said ecstatically.

"Shut up!" Kagome and InuYasha said to Kikyo at the same time.

"But…but I!" Kagome said as she grabbed his arm, trying to make him listen to her. He shook her hand off.

And then he said it, the words that had stabbed her, tore her heart apart.

"You know," he said quietly. "It's exactly like I told you before. I never have wanted to marry somebody I don't love."

And that was when he turned his eyes away from her and looked angrily ahead. That was when he walked right by her and brushed past her parents. That was when he left the room with Kikyo clinging tightly to his arm.

And before they were out of sight, Kikyo looked back at Kagome with the most smug and proud look on her face. Kikyo knew that she had won. And Kagome…she knew that she had lost.

It was horrible. And if InuYasha's outrage wasn't enough, the sight of her parents standing there with shock and disappointment and even anger on their faces was beyond horrible. Plus, the fact that InuYasha's father was standing right behind them was absolutely horrendous.

She shook her head and stayed under the covers. Waking up meant that she'd have to remember all of that. Waking up meant that she'd have to remember the shame, the pain, and most of all…InuYasha.

"Time to wake up," Sango said as she yanked the covers off of Kagome and threw them onto the floor.

Kagome grabbed a pillow instead and put it over her face. Hey, if she was lucky then the pillow just might suffocate her. At least if she was suffocated, she wouldn't have to remember what happened.

It had been a whole month since it happened. It had been a whole month since she'd left the western lands, since she'd left InuYasha.

Sango had just returned to the kingdom. She'd returned to the eastern lands when Kagome had, but only two weeks later she went back to the west, back to Miroku. Her parents had gone with her and they were thrilled that she'd gotten engaged.

At least this engagement would run smoothly. At least Sango could be happy.

Kagome, however, hadn't been happy. Not only had InuYasha been upset, but so had his father. The king had been furious. Furious? Furious wasn't only the king, but her parents also! They'd spent about five hours straight talking to the king while Kagome had to sit outside of the door and wait.

She had to sit there in her shame and her guilt. She had to sit there all alone.

When it was all said and done with, the engagement was called off. Kagome and InuYasha were no longer betrothed to wed.

She was free. She was finally free! Isn't that what she'd wanted all along? Yes, it was. She'd achieved her goal, accomplished her mission. Yet, she felt so miserable.

Her parents were disappointed, the king was angry, and InuYasha………

She didn't plan on falling in love with him. It just happened. And he had felt the same way, too, she knew he had.

Maybe that was why she felt so miserable. Maybe she felt so miserable because deep down, she knew that InuYasha was just as heartbroken as she was.

"Come on," Sango said as she grabbed Kagome's foot and started to pull her. Kagome grabbed hold of the headboard and she wasn't going to let go no matter how hard Sango pulled.

"Leave me be," Kagome said as she freed one hand and grabbed the pillow before throwing it at Sango.

"She's resisting," Sango called. "It's time to move on to plan number two!"

"Plan number two?" Kagome asked, afraid of what the answer would be.

And just then, her younger brother Sota ran into the room and was fully prepared to tickle her.

"Fine!" Kagome said as she let go of the bed.

Sango hadn't been prepared for that, however, and she'd yanked Kagome clear out of bed and they both ended up on the floor.

"It seems that I do not know my own strength," Sango said as Kagome glared at her and stood up.

"It seems that you definitely do not."

"Don't you get that snippy attitude with me!" she said as she stood up, too. "We both are aware that I am not the root of your troubles."

Kagome sighed before she sat down on the edge of her bed and buried her face in her hands. "I know…I'm sorry…"

Sango sighed, too.

Kagome was pretty reluctant to wake up every morning, but this morning was worse than usual. After the decision to break off the engagement was announced, Kagome's parents decided that she needed a new fiancé.

There were two men who vied for her attention. They'd always wanted her, yet they had held off because she'd been engaged to InuYasha for so long.

But now that the engagement was over, they both saw her as fair game. Fresh meat…

Kagome sighed again.

Koga was a prince of the southern lands. And Hojo was the heir to the thrown of the middle kingdom. The middle kingdom was obviously the lands that were right at the center of all of the lands. It was the intersecting point of the northern, southern, eastern, and western lands.

It didn't mean that those lands had any more power than the others, though.

Today Kagome was supposed to be meeting with both Koga and Hojo. Her parents expected her to make a decision today. They expected for her to choose one of the two to be her future husband. And if she didn't make a choice, then they would choose for her.

It was a no-win situation. She lost either way. It was what psychologists called the avoidance-avoidance conflict. She had two unattractive alternatives to choose from.

"Hey sis," Sota said as he hurried to the door. "Mother says you are to be ready soon or else she shall let your suitors see you in your current state."

"Those exact words, huh?" Kagome said as he left the room. "I care not if they see me like this. Hey, maybe it'll stop them from liking me and make them stop their pursuing of me."

She sighed again.

It was horrible. Everything was horrible. Ever since that night, ever since her engagement was ended, nothing was good to her anymore. Bright colors seemed much less vibrant and food had even lost much of its taste.

She'd spent eighteen years of her life without InuYasha, of definitely not wanting him. But now…but now she wanted to be with him, she really did. It was quite ironic that now that she wanted him, she couldn't have him.

Kagome took a nice long bath. Her mother couldn't get mad at her for wanting to be nice and clean when she met with her possible future husbands, right?

She didn't feel any better when she left the bathroom and went to get dressed. She was eighteen years old. She was grown, right? So why was it that her mother still insisted on choosing what she wore like she was a child?"

The dress was nice, sure, but Kagome didn't want to wear it. She was grown and could make her own decisions. Maybe she could run away. Maybe she could run far away from the kingdom and make a new life for herself somewhere else. She could start fresh, anew.

Scratch that idea. She'd never make it out of her father's reach now. He was still very much angry about the fact of what she did.

Both of her parents were watching her like hawks, in her opinion.

She didn't even get to put on her own makeup or do her own hair. Her mother insisted that other people did that for her. Kagome sighed. She seemed to be sighing a lot lately…

"Now remember," the queen said as they began walking down a flight of stairs before going around the corner. "Smile at them. It is imperative that you look as if you are enjoying yourself. If you do not, then the young men may lose interest."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "If only I could be so lucky," she murmured.

"What was that?"

"Never mind," Kagome said with a bit of an attitude. Normally she didn't act like this. But this wasn't a normal situation.

Koga, even if he was handsome, was quite the pig. They had one cup of tea together and then he declared that she was his woman. He said a few other things that she definitely didn't like, but she didn't want to repeat those words even if it was only in her mind.

Hojo, however, was really sweet, kind, and considerate. He was handsome, too, yet he didn't speak in the same degrading way as Koga did. He was going to make a lucky woman very happy some day, but she knew in her heart that she was not that woman.

After all, she still had feelings for InuYasha, even if he didn't feel the same way about her.

She was slowly trying to accept the fact that she couldn't change what happened. And she was really trying to accept the fact that InuYasha probably hated her.

She couldn't change anything, right? The past was the past. No use looking back, right? All she could really do was move forward. And if she moved forward until she got far enough ahead, then maybe she wouldn't see any of this by the time she decided to look back.

"Here!" Hojo said two days later as he came to visit her at the castle. "It's a basket full of fruit! You have to watch your health, right? I heard that you like strawberries. I hope you'll eat these."

Hojo was sweet, really he was. Kagome liked him…she just didn't like him the same way he liked her. But who knew…maybe she'd grow to love him in time…

"Thank you," she said as she took the basket. "You're right, I should watch my health. I am not one who likes to get ill."

She smiled at him and he smiled back. She was being as pleasant as possible. With her parents watching her every move and the kingdom as a whole scrutinizing her, she had to play her cards right.

With all of the rumors that went around about InuYasha despite what a great prince he was, she had to wonder what the people of her kingdom said about her.

Were there young women standing on the street gossiping about her? Were there young men who lied about her as well?

She had to act like the perfect princess. She didn't want to mess up her reputation anymore than she already had. Somehow everybody in the kingdom seemed to know about what happened between her and InuYasha.

Everybody was talking about it. What exactly they were saying about it, she didn't know. And she had a feeling that she really didn't want to know.

She was the beloved princess who'd been betrothed since she was a baby. And now she'd screwed that up. Everybody was probably wondering what she'd do next.

And she was wondering that herself. What would she do next? Marry Hojo and go to the middle lands, to his kingdom? Act like she was happy when she really wasn't?

If InuYasha didn't want her anymore, that wasn't fine, but she at least wanted to tell him how the whole situation looked through her eyes. She could at least tell him the story how she'd meant to tell him before Kikyo interrupted.

And then, if he still hated her, then she would just have to let it go.

The news had been shocking to her, the fact that InuYasha was engaged to Kikyo. Kikyo hadn't wasted any time getting her grubby paws on InuYasha, sinking her claws into him and putting her collar around his neck.

It was what she'd wanted for a long time, right? That's what made Kikyo hate Kagome the most over the years. She'd always wanted InuYasha but she couldn't have him…until now.

Soon Kikyo would be married to InuYasha, Kagome's InuYasha, and she would probably rub it in right in front of Kagome if she ever got that chance.

In fact, Kagome had no idea, but Kikyo was bragging right at that very moment.

"It's such a large diamond!" Kikyo said as she showed off her ring. "I can barely lift my hand."

The group of women around her gave her their full attention…and she was loving it.

InuYasha rolled his eyes and sighed.

Ever since that night, ever since Kagome left, the castle had felt strangely empty.

But she had lied to him. She'd plotted against him. She planned on finding out the worst things about him and then showing it to other people.

She'd deceived him.

But not everything could be a lie. That smile of hers, so kind and warm. She couldn't have faked that could she? No, she couldn't.

After the engagement to Kagome was cancelled, with his family pressuring him and the whole kingdom watching him closely, InuYasha had decided to propose to Kikyo. Everybody expected him to do that even though they refused to say such a thing to him.

It was expected.

Most things in his life had been expected. Ever since he was a baby, he had been expected to marry Kagome. And then he was expected to be schooled by the finest teachers and master weaponry and then he was expected to rule the kingdom one day.

But that day Kagome came to town, the first day he saw her again, that was not expected. Finally, something in his life that hadn't been planned.

From that day on, he found himself keeping an eye on her, interested in everything she did. Even though she pretended to be a peasant and talked out of place, he had liked that. Other people in the kingdom didn't tell it to him straight or challenge him or really truly talk to him, but she had.

He'd always kept an interest in her, but that day they kissed…things began to change. Whenever he saw her he got a little nervous. He'd sometimes glance at her lips and remember their softness.

It was crazy. He'd never thought this way before. And he didn't know that she was his fiancée, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that being with her was…right. Kikyo had been trying to get him to betray Kagome's trust for years, yet he always brushed Kikyo off. And then this girl comes to town and changes so much even if nobody had a clue that she had.

The few weeks before her secret was revealed, they finally got to truly talk and he found that they had so much in common. And he liked that, he liked her.

In fact, he felt that he had started to actually lo…love her?

InuYasha shook his head. No. He couldn't love her, right? She lied to him. Kikyo told him all about it. She told him about how she came to the kingdom to find out the worst things she could about him and tell about it.

She told him that Kagome took the job at the castle so she could spy on him and snoop around. She told him that Kagome cheated in that contest to beat her and that she did it in the hopes that winning would help her to get closer to InuYasha so she could hurt him.

Kikyo told him that Kagome planned to humiliate him in front of the people of his kingdom and hers, to blow his whole reputation. And she also told him that Kagome planned the whole Naraku situation. That Kagome led Naraku on and make him think that she wanted to be with him before beating him up and running to InuYasha and fool him into thinking that she was the victim so that she could get even closer to him!

And Kikyo had also said that Kagome had spread many of those rumors about him around town in the hopes that she would have more things to say against him. From the way Kikyo talked, Kagome was a horrible person.

He'd made the right decision, right? He was marrying Kikyo. Kikyo was honest and good, right? And she wouldn't hurt him or lie?

Yet the thought of Kagome's smile, her kind words, her gentle laugh. The memory of her in such pain as she tried to deal with her injured ankle, the grief on her face.

And the things she'd told him about herself, about her beliefs and hopes…Had all of that been a ruse? From what Kikyo had told him, Kagome hadn't only wanted out of the marriage pretty badly, but she'd also wanted to put him into deep disgrace.

How could a woman who had seemed so trustworthy turn out to be plotting so much against him?

InuYasha was going to marry Kikyo, but the truth was that he didn't love her. He never had wanted to marry a woman that he didn't love, which was why he had always wanted to get out of marrying Kagome.

But now…now he did love her, even if her feelings for him had all been fake. But he was resigned to the idea of going through with it and marrying Kikyo.

He could trust her, right? She'd told him all about Kagome's plans so she could rely on her, right?

He was sitting alone in his room. Miroku had left for the eastern lands, but not before leaving InuYasha words that were still repeating in his head.

"InuYasha," Miroku said from the doorway. "The eastern kingdom is having a celebration soon and that's why I am taking my leave."

"So?" InuYasha said sharply.

"So, as you so shrilly said, a wedding is going to take place. Princess Kagome has had two men after her since she has returned home. InuYasha, sort out your beliefs and see what's true. And if you find that Kagome is unworthy of you, then do not come. At least then you won't feel any remorse when you lose her."

InuYasha sighed. So Kagome was going to get married? He'd heard that Hojo, that wimpy human and Koga the scrawny wolf were after her.

Koga was bad enough. He went after anything that moved as long as if was a female. Kagome definitely wouldn't go for him. But Hojo…he was like the ideal fiancé! Polite, caring, kind…Kagome probably fell for him on the spot.

But what did he care? He was marrying Kikyo. Kagome was completely against him, no good. So if she trapped some other man in her web of lies, what did he care?

The dungeon. Naraku was still in the dungeon. None of the royals had gone to speak to him at all, nobody. But now InuYasha wanted to know the truth. He wanted to know all about how Kagome went about playing the victim. Naraku was the only one who could give him the answers to his questions. His father had finally decided that it was time to hear the story as well.

It was a long walk down the stairs, but when they finally reached the bottom, InuYasha shivered. The dungeon was very cold and very dark. There were candles on the walls, the only source of light in the room, but they had burned down so long that the light was very faint.

As they walked down a dark corridor, he heard voices. Was somebody down there talking to Naraku? As they got closer, they realized that woman was talking. And as InuYasha peeked around the corner, he saw that it was Kikyo.

She didn't know that they were there. What was Kikyo doing talking to Naraku? Both InuYasha and his father wanted to find out, so they stayed hidden.

"You should've heard it," Kikyo said as she spun around once. "The girl looked so pathetic, sitting in her room talking she said 'The mission is over. I came here after hearing the rumors of InuYasha cheating on me, I came here to find evidence and free myself from the engagement…But now I can't, I won't. I've realized and come to accept the fact that I love him.' Sure, when it came down to it what she did was not too horrible. He might even have forgiven her, but I made sure that he wouldn't."

"Oh?" Naraku said from his cell.

"Yes. Of course Lord InuYasha was upset after hearing the shocking news that his princess had deceived him, so he left the room with me. And that was when I filled his head with lies, made him believe that his precious Kagome was the horrible person that I always thought she was. And it was all for you," he saw Kikyo say before she kissed Naraku.

"Well done," Naraku said from his cell. "I am sure that the king does not wish to kill me. He will leave me here, leave me in this cell in the darkness."

"But," Kikyo said. "I will marry InuYasha like I always planned. And then I'll see to it that the young prince experiences a swift death. And then his power will go to me, all of his authority. And that is when I will free you. And then we'll finally be together. Someday we will rule these lands and everybody will obey us and only us!"

What they hadn't planned on was the fact that InuYasha and the king had heard the whole thing. And what they hadn't planned on was the fact that even if they hadn't wanted to be together, they would be together in that cell for a very long time.

After it was seen to that Kikyo and Naraku were locked up together tightly, InuYasha remembered what Miroku said.

The wedding! Kagome was getting married…and very soon! He had to hurry, to make it to the eastern lands and to the church on time!

He couldn't let her marry another man. He loved her. And he wanted to marry the woman that he loved.

"Are you sure that the dress is alright?" Kagome asked Sango as she took one last look in the mirror."

"Yes," Sango told her. "What about mine?"

"You look beautiful," Kagome told her.

The wedding was going to be big, really big. So many people had showed up. The church was packed and the unlucky ones who couldn't get inside were lined up outside.

"Look at the profuse amount of people out there," Kagome said nervously.

She tried taking in deep breaths, but that didn't help.

"Calm down," Sango told her. "You're making me nervous, too."

"I'm sorry," Kagome told her. "It's going to be okay."

The people waiting for the wedding to start were getting a bit restless. What was keeping the bride? Miroku stood with Hojo. He felt everybody watching them closely and he began to sweat slightly.

The music started and they watched as the bridesmaids began to walk down the aisle. Kagome came from around the corner and took a deep, shaky breath before she began to follow. She looked nervous, but of course she was. This was a wedding. How would it look if she tripped and fell flat on her face?

She couldn't mess this up or else she would live with shame and embarrassment the rest of her life!

InuYasha made it! He finally made it to the eastern lands. It had taken a while, but he finally reached the town. The houses were abandoned. Where was everybody? The church? Were they all there watching Kagome get married?

He had to hurry, he had to make it there in time to stop the wedding! It wasn't too hard to find the church from the top of a building since there was a huge crowd in front of it. He jumped down off of the house and ran at full speed.

"Damn," he said as he stopped at the end of the crowd. "Did everybody have to be at this wedding?"

He could hear the music. The music had started which meant that Kagome had to be walking down the aisle or at least getting ready to. He didn't have much time left.

"Everybody move it!" he called.

Nobody listened to him.

"Let me through!" he yelled.

"Huh?" a man said as he turned around. "Sorry buddy, but you should've come earlier."

"What do you think you're doing?!" a woman said to the man, her husband. "Do you know not who that is?!"

People began to turn around, one by one. They gasped. They couldn't believe that standing there right in front of them was Lord InuYasha of the western lands! Sure, many of them had never seen him before, but the rumors of his silver hair, dog ears, golden eyes, and the angry expression on his face could not be mistaken.

"Make a path for him!" somebody called. "Let him through!"

People hurried back, hurried out of his way. They made a path for him, a clear path from where he stood to the huge doors of the church.

He ran through it, thanking them on the way and cursing them for taking so long at the same time. The music stopped a couple of minutes before he reached the doors. Had the vows began? He couldn't be too late, could he?"

He pushed the doors open with all of his strength and ran halfway down the aisle.

"Kagome, don't do it!" he called. "Don't marry him, I love you!"

People in their seats turned around to look at him, shocked. The couple at the end of the aisle turned around, too. Miroku wasn't surprised. He'd planned this. Kagome, though, looked very, very shocked.

InuYasha stood there in silence and blinked a couple of times. Standing there in a beautiful white dress was Sango, right next to Miroku. And standing on the other side of Sango in a blue bridesmaid dress was the maid of honor, Kagome.

InuYasha had felt like a fool, standing there and looking at Miroku, Sango, and Kagome. He felt like a fool in front of all of those people. But at the same time, he felt relieved. So Kagome wasn't marrying Hojo?

"I..InuYasha?" Kagome said from beside Sango. "Wh…what are you doing here?"

InuYasha just ran into the church, ran in so suddenly. She hadn't looked back when the doors opened or when she heard the footsteps. No, what made her look back was the fact that he said "I love you".

"Kagome…I…I…I'm sorry," InuYasha said as he reached her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I love you, I really do. Kikyo lied to me, told me horrible things about you…And I'm sorry that I believed what she said. But you…you're not like that, I know. A part of me wanted to think what she said was wrong all along. I…I never loved Kikyo and we're not getting married. After all I told you that I didn't want to marry a woman that I didn't love. And that…that's why I want to marry you."

"Y…you do?! Kagome asked softly as she blinked back tears.

"Yes," InuYasha said. "I want to, if you'll marry a dog eared mutt like me."

Kagome laughed as she remembered that huge argument they had when they were twelve.

"Only if you'd like to marry an ugly duckling like me."

"Pathetic human."

"You freaking mongrel idiot!" she said. "I love you, too!"

People cheered as InuYasha wrapped his arms around Kagome, pulled her closer before kissing her. Miroku gave InuYasha a thumbs up and Sango cried and clapped.

When all was said and done, InuYasha took his place as Miroku's best man and Kagome stood next to Sango as her maid of honor. Miroku and Sango finished their wedding.

Though Kagome and InuYasha were paying attention, they were looking at each other. Kagome was so happy. InuYasha loved her, too, and now they were engaged again! He forgave her for what she'd done and saw through Kikyo's lies.

She promised herself that she would never deceive him again. He was too important to her to hurt again.

It wasn't long after Sango and Miroku's wedding that Kagome and InuYasha got married, too. She moved to the western lands as planned. Her little brother would be the heir to the eastern kingdom, not her.

When it was all said and done with, InuYasha's family was really quick to forgive and forget her transgressions. Who would not be forgiven, however, were Kikyo and Naraku who were both sitting in the darkness of the dungeon.

Kagome no longer cared what rumors were going around about InuYasha or her. She knew that anything bad was a lie.

She wouldn't believe gossip anymore. Gossip had made her judge him wrongly. Gossip had made her deceive him in the first place. But…gossip was what had gotten her here, to this point where she was actually happy.

It was funny how things ended up. She came to the kingdom hating him and now she was married to him and in love with him.

The words haunted her in a good way, the words he'd said softly in her ear, whispered against her heart. He'd wrapped his arms tightly around her and they had watched the rain falling outside.

With her there, he didn't get sad anymore on rainy days like this. She smiled. And then he brought his head down, his lips next to her ear.

"Kagome…?" InuYasha asked quietly, the brush of his words so warm. "Can I keep you?"

She was shocked by his strange question at first, but then she smiled.

"Always," she told him sweetly as she took his hand in hers. "If I can keep you, too."

They knew they weren't living in a fairytale, but they could still have their fairytale ending, their happy ending.. As the last raindrop fell and the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, they realized everything would be okay as long as they were together. And so the prince and the princess, finally, lived happily ever after.

The End. 


End file.
